What is Past is Prologue
by Scandalpants
Summary: Future fic, takes place seven years after the season finale. Veronica and Logan are 26 and living in New York. Yes, it's a LoVe story. Is there any other kind? I promise angst, drama and even a few Dick jokes. Warning: Reviews contain spoilers, read with caution! Rated M for detailed sex scenes, language and subject matter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Disclaimer - It is my lot in life to own nothing of the Mars 'Verse. But if anyone was wondering what to get me for Christmas...**

Chapter One

Veronica was ripped out of sleep by the buzz of the alarm. Groaning, she rolled across the empty side to hit the off button. It felt so damn good to be back in her own bed that she was tempted to play the snooze game. Before she could allow herself to fall back asleep, however, the many meetings she had scheduled today had her stumbling toward the lesser comfort of a hot shower. She stepped out of her tank top and skivs, tossing them into the laundry basket with an experienced throw as she crossed the bedroom.

She stepped into the shower, and then stood gasping under the cold spray to try to wake herself up. The ancient water heater always took a while, but she loved the apartment too much to care. She had learned to use the cold water to her advantage on mornings like this.

Just as the water began to heat, she heard the click of the shower door, followed by strong arms coming around her waist. "Why didn't you wake me up when you came in last night?" he whispered. The sound of his deep voice sent a delicious shiver down her spine, as it always did.

"I was going to, but you looked so peaceful sleeping on the couch. And those dark circles under your eyes said you needed the rest." Turning around, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why weren't you in bed?"

"You know I don't sleep well when you're on assignment, and you haven't been home in three weeks. It's easier to just stay up and work until I crash. Turn around so I can wash your hair." She complied as he poured a healthy amount of shampoo onto his palm, and then began rubbing his hands together.

"How did it go?" he inquired.

She moaned as his fingers worked their way into her hair and massaged her scalp. It wasn't until he stopped that she answered. "Really well. We made a lot of progress, but we still have to go back Monday morning."

It was obvious he had forced his voice to sound casual when he asked,"This last trip was a DEFCON 4, has that changed?"

He grabbed the detachable shower head and slowly rinsed the shampoo from her scalp. When he finished he gave it to her to hold while he worked conditioner through her hair.

Veronica hesitated before answering. The DEFCON system they used had been borrowed from the military. Her work at the FBI was confidential but, if she was honest about when things got dangerous, he accepted that risk was part of the job she loved. Since the majority of her time was spent doing research and stakeouts, she was usually at DEFCON 5, the code for little to no danger. The higher the danger, the lower the DEFCON number, so their system meant he knew the rare times when he should worry.

"We're nearing the end so this next trip is probably a 3, maybe a 2 depending on how it goes," she said, glad she was facing the wall so she missed him react to this news.

His fingers worked the conditioner through her hair for a moment longer than necessary, then he took the shower head from her. After rinsing her hair and replacing the head on its bracket, he reached around her waist to grab the bar of soap. His hands ran it over her wet torso to build up lather before he slowly ran them over her hips, up her back and down her arms.

"I missed you, Jezebel," he murmured.

She smiled at the nickname he had given her about the same time they agreed on the DEFCON system."I missed you, too. But our reconciliation is going to have to wait until tonight. I have to be at the morning meeting in an hour."

Suddenly his hands cupped her breasts, eliciting a gasp from her. The time apart had made her hungry for him, and he didn't make things any easier when he turned her around and gave her a searing kiss. Why couldn't the meeting be later?

"No, you have to be at the meeting in an hour and a half. I set your clock ahead last night." His impish grin made her laugh, pleased at his subterfuge.

"Well then, take me to bed or lose me forever!"

"Just show me the way home, honey," he countered before he reached behind her to turn off the water. He opened the shower door and walked backwards while they kissed, until he fell on the bed and took her with him.

The sheets quickly absorbed the moisture from their skin as they spent the next twenty minutes making up for their long separation…

* * *

As she hurried to dress, Veronica asked, "Is it okay if I meet you at Judith's tonight? I have a late meeting and don't want you to miss any part of her retirement party waiting for me."

"How late will you be? She's been my editor forever, and this is her big send off. Plus, I know how cranky you are when you miss cake," he said with a knowing smile.

"I should be getting there before things get in full swing. Maybe eight at the latest? Especially since her place is closer to headquarters than ours." She placed her hand on his shoulder ass she stepped into her shoes. "But if the cake comes early you know to save me slice, right?"

"You come with a badge, a gun and a large dose of revengeful spirit. I know to save you two slices," he chuckled. He pulled on a pair of sweats and sat on the edge of the bed. "I remember what happened when I ate the last fudgesicle."

Veronica secured her hair in a side bun then leaned down, grinned and kissed him quickly. "Milkshakes are better with Tabasco sauce. See you tonight." As she was running for the door she yelled, "I love you!"

"I love you, too!" she heard him yell back, just before she left the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I own nothing, but pledge my troth to Rob Thomas. **

Chapter 2

As she hurried up the street to the subway station, Veronica thrilled at being back in New York. The throngs of people in the street, the honking of horns, and the general cacophony of the large city reminded her she was home.

She had been incredibly excited when she was assigned to New York after FBI training three years ago. But she viewed it as an adventure and figured once the novelty wore off, she would beg to be assigned to sunny SoCal. In time, the novelty did wear off but was replaced with an incredible sense of belonging. Here she was anonymous; no knew or cared about her past. She was just another New Yorker and she loved her place in the bustling town.

Unfortunately, she and her partner had been on assignment in Boston the last few months and had come home for only two short visits. They had finally ferreted out the leaders of the sex trafficking ring and were close to busting them. She truly hoped this next stretch would be the last. Most of her assignments took place here since New York had plenty of crime to spare, but for this job it felt like her life had been on hold for months.

Veronica reached FBI headquarters and passed all the security checkpoints, making it to her desk with five minutes to spare. After a glance at her watch she thanked the gods she would have time to grab a cup of coffee. Well timed as it was, the lovemaking session had left her seriously under caffeinated. She quickly headed toward the staff break room.

"Hey Rover! Welcome back, "exclaimed Jerry Schneider, another agent in her division. He was a 40ish blonde man with kind brown eyes and heavily wrinkled skin, rather schlubby looking for an FBI agent. "I thought you were staying deep under until this thing was done. I'm glad to see you, but why back so soon?" he asked.

"We had a lot of information to parlay and wanted to make sure wasn't intercepted," she answered. "The timing _may_ have coincided with Adam needing to be in town for his sister's wedding, and a friend's party I want to attend, but that was purely coincidence," she said with a grin. "We are very close to breaking this wide open, though."

Jerry grinned back and asked, "So, how did you sneak away?"

"Sneak? A good con woman doesn't have to sneak out of town - she leaves when she wants to."

He smiled at the paraphrasing of the James Woods quote. "Diggstown, one of my favorites. You always remember, sweetheart."

Veronica fluttered her eyelashes and said sweetly, "Anything for you Jerry. Anyway, Adam came up with the cover story."

In her best southern drawl Veronica explained, "Well, that husband of mine is just the sweetest thang! He got Larry, the other bartender, to cover my shifts until Monday, and then picked me with train tickets to New Yawk City! Can you believe it?" She sighed and put her hand over her heart. "Isn't he just a peach?"

Dropping the accent she rolled her eyes and grabbed a mug for coffee. Veronica shook her head and declared, "That's the last time I make a bet with him about who gets to come up with our cover identities. The sooner I can put 'Loretta Mae' behind me, the better."

She finished pouring her coffee and turned to find Adam Rogan, her partner, leaning in the doorway grinning at her. He was six feet, four inches of chiseled muscles, and a face the likes of which any marquee idol would kill for; like a young and butch Rupert Everett. His deep voice lent an undeniable sex appeal to his words as he imitated her southern drawl and teased, "Ah, don't be mad Sweat Pea. It was payback, after all. Now you can consider us even."

She frowned, "Even for what?"

He dropped the accent, his dulcet tones returning. "Hmmm, maybe for that time you volunteered us for the assignment in a musical theatre troop with an after show brothel? Musical. Fucking. Theatre, Rover. You know I hate that shit."

She grinned; she did know. "Oh yeah. I'll never forget your rendition of 'Yankee Doodle'. Classic. You're right; I did deserve Loretta. Anyway, how's Trent?"

With a saucy smile, Adam leered at her. "Fabulous. I spent the night getting properly laid. Deny that man my fine ass for a couple of weeks and he turns into an animal. How did you fare?" He came in poured himself a cup of coffee as he talked.

Veronica batted her eyelashes and simultaneously flipped him off. "As if I'd ever tell you."

A pretty, heavyset woman in her late 40s walked in at the tail end of this exchange and begged, "Well tell me. I live with three cats and my remote gets more action than I do. You're 26 and living with a sexy, rich, famous author who adores you." Her face got a dreamy expression. "Did I mention he was sexy? If you didn't get any, you and I need to pull a Freaky Friday and switch lives."

"Marjorie!" Veronica exclaimed. She shook her head and pointed a warning finger at the three of them. "I swear this job is making all of you jaded. You know this is the FBI right? I'm recording this for my sexual harassment suit. Keep talking; it's just making me richer."

Their division director, Harry David, poked his head in the room and barked, "According to my memo the meeting started 10 minutes ago in _my office._ Anybody want to explain to me why you're all in here?"

Adam, ever the smart ass, spoke up first. "It's Rover's fault sir. She was just going on about what a great boss you are, and the amazing FBI director you'll make someday. We tried to interrupt but she wouldn't let us get a word in." Standing behind him, Veronica kicked the back of his knee in an attempt to make it buckle. But he stood his ground, wily to her ways.

Director David snorted and said, "While I appreciate the vote of confidence I think I'd rather focus on the job we all have to do today. Shall we?" He left the room and they all shuffled after him. Adam made sure to walk next to his boss, out of reach of Veronica.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: My cats, my kids, my husband, my obsessions...all mine! Veronica Mars, I only get to borrow...**

Chapter 3

Veronica rushed out of the elevator at about eight-thirty that night to be greeted by the sounds of a party in full swing. She hurried down the hall, then entered the apartment after ringing the doorbell fruitlessly for several moments. It was apparent nobody could hear it over the noise.

Judith's apartment was wall-to-wall people, all laughing and talking loudly to be heard over some seriously '70s rock. As Veronica made her way around the room, she exchanged greetings with authors, agents and publishing house staff she had become acquainted with over the years. She was glad when she ran into Judith herself after several minutes and could finally offer her congratulations. They hugged and Veronica inquired about her newly acquired status of retiree. "What are you going to do with all your free time? You've always been kind of a workhorse."

Judith laughed and answered, "It's not work if you're doing something you love. You know that better than anybody, doll! But for what comes next? I can't wait to find out! Ooh, I have to say hello to Diana Gabaldon. Catch up soon?" she asked. At Veronica's nod she waved and was off.

Before she could wave back, a pair of arms snaked around her torso and a deep voice whispered in her ear, "Where have you been? It was torture to know we were in the same city and not be able to see you."

She turned around to answer but found her lips claimed. Not usually given to PDA, the party atmosphere and the time apart helped her throw caution to the wind; she gave in to the kiss in a way that was indecent for such a public venue. When the embrace ended she offered, "What do you say we get out of here, Angelface?"

He groaned, "You're killing me. Yes, I most definitely want to get out of here. This morning was way too rushed for a proper welcome home." He leaned down and laid a kiss on a particularly sensitive spot on her neck before moving up to bite her earlobe. "I know for a fact there are at least four of your favorite erogenous zones I didn't come close to exploring, and I'm dying to hear that sound you make when you come. I keep thinking if I hear it again I'll be able to think of a word to describe it."

Veronica's smile quickly turned into an exaggerated pout as he continued. "But no can do. Judith would definitely notice. Besides, my new editor is coming our way and I want to introduce you." He waved his hand in the air to grab someone's attention.

Taking her hand and raising it over her head, he twirled her around and brought her face to face with his new editor. "Logan! I want you to meet my girlfriend, Veronica Mars, the woman who has made my every non-working moment heaven on earth.

"Veronica, this is my new editor Logan Echolls, the man who is determined to make my every working moment a living hell." He chuckled, no idea what he had just done.

Veronica and Logan stared at each other for a long moment. She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach; her mouth dropped open and her mind went completely blank. From Logan's expression it appeared he was experiencing the same shocked reaction.

After an overly long moment of silence, Logan was the first to recover. He smiled at Veronica, then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek in greeting. Though the contact was brief, it was enough to take in his familiar musky scent, and leave her cheek warm where he had kissed her. She had a hard time meeting his eyes when he stated,"Veronica, wow. It's been a long time."

Logan then turned to the man behind her and grinned. "Charlie McGeary! All this time you've been telling me about your girlfriend Jezzy, who was out of town on business. Does Jezzy know about Veronica? More importantly does Veronica know about Jezzy? Because if not, this evening just got very interesting." His impish grin didn't quite reach his eyes when he looked at Veronica again.

Charlie chuckled, "Thankfully, they're one and the same. Otherwise I'd be on my way to a world of hurt right now." He jabbed Logan lightly on the shoulder. "But hey, thanks for throwing me under the bus, man. Good to know there's no such thing as honor among bros anymore. How do you two know each other?" he asked.

Logan looked down at Veronica, smiled at her insincerely and said, "We used to be friends, a long time ago."

* * *

Logan stood at the floor to ceiling windows of his penthouse apartment later that evening and stared over his view of the New York skyline.

_Fuck me. Veronica Mars—seven years! And wrapped around Charlie like a cheap fucking suit. She moved on, I did too. Good for her. Like I even fucking care. I don't, not for a long time._

He took a drink of his iced scotch and tried to wash down the bitterness that flooded his mouth as the memories from the end of freshman year came over him…

_God, that look on her face after I pounded that Sorokin guy. She was mine. Piz or Piss, or whatever the hell his name was, knew it too. __ Who did she end up naked with that night, huh? Dick just had to walk in just when we were starting round two and send her scrambling out the door. Jesus, I loved her. And she dumped me, like everyone else. I was fucking disposable. Like I didn't already know that._

He walked over to the bar to refill his drink. Far above the noise of the city, the apartment was too quiet. He was alone with nothing do distract him from the bitterness spewing from his memories.

_Not anymore. I did something with my life. I worked my ass off to get here. I fucking earned Charlie McGeary. Nothing is going to screw that up. Who the hell cares about Veronica Mars?_

He didn't want to think about the answer to that question. When he finished his scotch he poured himself another, knowing sleep would be an elusive bitch tonight.

**A/N For those that are worried at this point, it is a LoVe story. But it is complicated and involved and it won't be easy to get there-is anything ever easy for these two? Even though this story is complete at this point, I love reviews...They are my chocolate.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thanks to those who have left reviews, even though this story is complete I'm still thrilled to hear from you. I promise, this is a LoVe story, so hang in there. They never write songs about the easy ones, do they?**

****I own nothing, but I think at this point and time Rob Thomas owns me.**

Chapter 4

Charlie and Veronica spent the cab ride home from the party in silence. It was after midnight and they were both exhausted, having worked too hard and slept too little the last few weeks. The lights of the city and muted sounds of eight million people going about their lives came thru the closed windows, the effect hypnotic after only a few minutes.

Charlie and she had mingled, caught up with friends, and sent Judith off in style. After their brief reunion, Logan had excused himself and made it a point to remain on the other side of the apartment for the rest of the night, but she was constantly mindful of his presence. Charlie seemed unaware of the intentional avoidance, and how how loaded the statement 'we used to be friends' was.

When Veronica and Charlie had first started dating, she had drawn only the vaguest sketch of her growing up. As they got closer she filled him in on some of the darker aspects of her youth in Neptune, such as Lilly's murder and her mother's abandonment, but had never brought up Logan. Since everyone she cared about had left Neptune before she met Charlie, trips to visit family and friends lacked any awkward encounters with her past.

Twice a year they saw her father; when he visited them in New York and when they traveled to the small Oregon town where he was sheriff. Wallace and Mac both lived in the California Bay Area, so they usually flew into Oakland and visited them before driving to Oregon. Weevil was living in Chicago and she saw him a couple times a year when she was in Chi Town on FBI business.

They never brought up Logan, Duncan, Lilly, or Cassidy, even when reminiscing about their pasts. Each of them had such busy lives there was always new news to share. It was so great to be with someone like Charlie who didn't treat her like she not only came with baggage, but baggage that was loaded with grenades. Logan had done that, since he knew the source of every one of those damned grenades. More than a few even had his name on them.

_Dammit, I need to get him out of my head. I've worked so hard for seven years to get past all of that; I don't need to be reminded. I'm a different person now, and I'm willing to bet so is he. Not to mention when you're with an author their editor is part of the package, like an in-law, so I had better get used to the idea of Logan in my life. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, he was such a good friend before Lilly was murdered and everything got complicated. I've moved on, and I'm sure he has as well. _

Charlie leaned forward to pay the driver when they reached their apartment building, then helped her out of the cab. With interlocked fingers the walked to the front door of their home.

It was a small apartment building by New York standards, and much more modest that you would expect from a writer of his fame and the inevitable fortune that follows. But Charlie had grown up traveling the world with his parents. They often lived in rural villages without benefits of running water or electricity. He had no desire to live a life of excess, and gave a considerable amount of his royalties to charities that were close to his heart. Veronica shared Charlie's preferences to keep their lives simple, having no illusions about the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

When they entered the foyer of their building the night doorman, James, tipped his hat and they gave answering nods. When the elevator doors shut Charlie pulled her close, bent his knees and rested his head on her much lower shoulder. He let out a huge sigh and asked, "Will you still consider me a real man if I'm asleep the minute we crawl into bed, and don't even try to cop a feel first?"

Veronica laughed and took his hand, placing it on her breast. "There. My opinion of your virility is intact. Now get your hands off me, I'm too tired tonight." The elevator door opened on their floor as she swatted his hand away.

Charlie helped her off with her coat once they were home. "Hey, by the way, don't think I didn't notice that tonight," he said with a serious tone, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention.

"Notice what?" Veronica asked, warily, watching him hang up their coats.

"You were calling me Angelface in public. We had a deal. If you can't say the entire thing you can't use any part of the name. Unless we're alone of course," Charlie told her, his choice of topic and the new levity in his voice putting her at ease again.

"Hmmm, let's not forget who broke the covenant first. Logan totally sold you out." She kicked off her shoes and pulled the pins from her hair as she spoke. "I seem to remember the Cutesy Name Negotiations of 2012 included that when talking about me to other people you refer to me by my real name. The names Jez, Jezzy and Jezebel are only to be used when I'm within earshot. If you're fuzzy on the details I recorded it. I can play you the tape," she offered.

He laughed low, and then reached out to pull her close. "Did you? Please tell me it is video as well as audio. I'd make popcorn and buy the Junior Mints if I could watch you use that butter knife to dub me 'Sir Angelface with the Devil's Cock' again."

They laughed at the shared memory and Charlie shook his head. "That old lady at the restaurant didn't know what she was starting when she said I had the face of an angel." He kissed her and moved his hips suggestively against hers. "Hey, I think I'm starting to rally. Want to bring out the devil in me Jezebel?" he murmured against her neck before moving his head to put a kiss on her jaw.

Veronica laughed and pulled back to look up at him. His jet black hair was slightly disheveled and in need of a cut, his smile sweet on his beautiful mouth, and his deep green eyes looked at her with love and trust. He was so different from Logan in so many ways. She felt a pang of guilt at the comparison. Charlie was the man she loved, that she shared her life with. He deserved her full attention tonight; thoughts of Logan could wait one more day.

She held his gaze for a long moment and then dropped her hands to his belt buckle and replied simply, "Yes."

**A/N: Did I mention this is a LoVe story... I think in the plot summary I did promise drama and angst, right?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I own nothing, everything good belongs to Rob Thomas and Joss Whedon.  
**

Chapter 5

Veronica woke to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon being fried. She made short work of a shower, and then dressed in her favorite flannel pajama bottoms and the T-shirt commemorating her and Charlie's road trip down Route 66 last year.

Her stomach growled when entered the kitchen and found Charlie putting the finishing touches on a breakfast feast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit salad, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. "Wow, two breakfast meats!" she exclaimed. "It's like you know me or something."

"Or something," he smiled as he leaned down to take the kiss she was offering. Charlie glanced down at her shirt, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

"Whatsa matter Angelface? Not happy to see me?" Veronica joked, attempting to lighten his mood. She sat in the chair he pulled out for her and began piling food on her plate.

"You, always. That shirt I could stand never to see again," he explained.

Her brow creased in confusion. "What are you talking about? The Route 66 trip was a blast, and _you_ bought me this shirt. I've only worn it a handful of times."

Charlie sat in his own chair and began to load his plate as well. "You've worn it exactly twice. Both times you told me you were going deep undercover. Both times you ended up in the hospital." After taking a sip of his coffee he continued, "Whatever pleasant associations I have from that shirt have been ruined."

Her voice soft and full of regret, Veronica said, "I'm sorry, I didn't even realize. I'll go change." She pushed back her chair and began to rise, pausing to say, "But Charlie, there is no bad news. Sometimes a shirt is just a shirt."

He sighed. "Veronica, stop. I know you're starving. How about we eat instead of deconstructing your wardrobe?"

She smirked and teased, "Okay, but you started it." She pulled her chair up to the table again. But instead of starting on the food, she reached across and placed her hand against his cheek.

They locked eyes for a long moment, and then Charlie grasped her hand, and turned his head to place a kiss on her palm before releasing it. He ordered, "Now eat. The food isn't getting any warmer, and whatever you have to tell me can wait until we enjoy our meal, right?"

Veronica could tell his good mood was forced, but decided the Logan conversation could keep. Because of their frequent separations, and the dangerous aspects of her job, they had learned to protect any moments of normalcy.

They caught up each other up on their weeks apart as they ate. She couldn't divulge any aspect of the case she was working, but she was able to share a few funny stories about Adam. Veronica and he often posed as a couple, and Adam enjoyed nothing more than trying to shock or embarrass her. "…so we're on this double date in a karaoke bar. Adam's idea, of course. I didn't know he had been bragging me up as some kind of karaoke champion. So, when he signed me up to sing, I had to go along with it. My shooting him would have blown our cover for sure!" she exclaimed, laughing.

Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Dare I ask what song he signed you up for?"

"Hmmm…I wouldn't tell you but I kind of owe you after this amazing breakfast. AC/DCs 'Big Balls'." She smiled and waited for his reaction.

In the middle of eating the last sausage link, Charlie did a spastic, full bodied cough/choke and laugh. Once he got his breath back, and wiped the tears from his cheeks, he said, "Ahhh, God I love Adam. Please tell me he got that on video."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Of course he did, though he promised not to show it to anybody yet. He said he's putting a special compilation together for my birthday."

"Never get on his bad side, Jez, if this is how he treats friends." Charlie shook a warning finger in her face, which she swatted away.

"Yeah, yeah. Enough about me. Fill me in on the debauchery a modern day writer gets up to when his girl is off earning the bacon he just cooked." As she spoke, Veronica swiped the last piece of bacon right before his fingers closed on it.

Charlie gave in gracefully and asked, "Debauchery? I wish. What do you say we move this to the couch in case my boring tales put you to sleep?"

He refilled their coffee cups from the carafe and they walked to the living room, each settling into an end of the red suede couch. Veronica stretched out, put her feel in Charlie's lap, and wiggled her toes so he knew she expected a foot massage.

Obliging, he grasped her left foot and started kneading absentmindedly. "Let's see. I met with Logan about my book and worked on the changes he asked for. Got in a fight with him about more changes and stormed out. Went back when I realized his ideas were actually great. Played racquetball and a video game called Rock Band with him, then got in another fight about changes. You know, the usual writer/editor process at this stage of the book."

"I don't remember you playing racquetball or Rock Band with Judith," Veronica said, with a small frown gracing her forehead.

Charlie grinned, "No, those were Logan specific. At least we're evenly matched; I'm sure Judith would have kicked my ass at both." He switched to rubbing her right foot, eliciting a groan from her. "Logan's a really smart guy and has some incredibly creative ideas on how to make a story work. Plus, he's kind of a blast to hang out with. But you know, he said you used to be friends. "

She reluctantly grabbed at the opening. "Actually, we should probably talk about Logan."

Charlie's questioning look was exaggerated. "Logan? What about him? Did he used to do this?" he asked, tickling the foot he had been massaging just a moment ago.

"Stop!" Veronica yelled, laughing as she kicked at him. "I'm trying to be serious here!" He stopped her kicking by wrapping his arms around her legs, and she took a second to catch her breath. "Actually, it's a bit of a story so if you have to pee, now is the time," she joked.

"Uh oh, it's a pee first story. What is he, an ex-boyfriend or an accused murderer or something?" Charlie jested, resting his chin on her bent knees and looking up at her.

At that her lip twitched, a sardonic smile settling on Veronica's face. "Do you want me to tell you or would you rather play twenty questions?" she asked.

"Hit me. And start at the beginning, you know I love a good story." His sweet smile reassured her.

The coffee mug cradled in her hands, Veronica thought about how much to tell him. Logan had a right to his privacy and she didn't want to give away any secrets. Or invite questions she wasn't ready to answer. "I met Logan when we were twelve. I was friends with Lilly, he was friends with Duncan, her brother. The four of became inseparable; more so when we paired off a few years later. But then Duncan broke up with me, Lilly was murdered shortly after, and Logan and I stopped being friends."

Charlie asked, his brow furrowed with concern, "So you lost your boyfriend, your best friend and another close friend all in one fell swoop?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. Let me ask you, after I told you about Lilly's murder, did you look it up? Read any of the news articles? Or remember hearing about it? It was a huge story in 2003 and 2005. "

"No." Charlie thought for a moment. "At that time I was living in Africa, then El Salvador with my parents. And if I remember right, when you told me about the murder I was up to my eyeballs in my third book and was kind of obsessing about it." He shook his head and sat up, resting his arm along the back of the couch. "I didn't realize it was such a big story; you just told me she was murdered and it took over a year to catch the guy. What does this have to do with Logan?"

"I'm getting there. Patience, grasshopper," Veronica admonished. She took a breath before continuing. "In junior year, Logan's mom reportedly jumped off the Coronado Bridge. He asked me to investigate if her death was real, or if she faked it. Sadly, it was the second. But we reconnected, and then started dating."

Charlie's eyes grew larger as he took in what she had told him. "Wow, that's really sad. I had no idea. But, Jez, is this all about Logan being an ex-boyfriend from high school? I don't think you have to give me a rundown. I mean, when I introduced you to Annabelle I didn't give you a play by play. I've always felt some things should stay private."

Veronica reached out and stroked his hair, since his head still rested on her knees. "I agree, but you and Logan are working side by side every day. There are some things you should know so you aren't blindsided if they come up." At his reluctant nod she went on. "Have you ever heard of Aaron Echolls, the movie star?"

Charlie snorted, "You know if I've seen a movie it's just because you made me watch it. I'm pretty sure my parents invented the Kill Your Television bumper sticker. Is he any relation to Logan?"

She nodded, "His father, actually. I discovered Aaron had been having an affair with sixteen-year-old Lilly and killed her to keep it quiet."

"Jesus!" Charlie exclaimed, sitting up.

"I told you all this because it's public knowledge. Aaron was a huge star and it was front page news, so I'm sure it will come up at some point." Veronica paused to take a sip of her coffee and decided she needed to add one more point. "I want you to remember something. Logan was an innocent kid. He is not his parents, and deserved much better than they ever gave him."

Charlie's look was sympathetic. "Thanks for telling me. I had no idea. He has a real knack for evading personal questions, so I stopped asking." He paused before querying , "So what happened with the two of you?"

Veronica ran her fingers over the handle of the coffee mug to distract herself from memories. "We were a mess. On and off again for two years. When it looked like we were getting back together, I got spooked. I left for a summer internship at the FBI, and then transferred to Brown when my name came up on a wait list and scholarship money came through."

His stare was intent, honing in on the crux of the matter. "How did you leave things?"

"Like a coward." Veronica lowered her eyes, embarrassed to admit to what she'd done seven years ago. "I wrote him and told him it was better if we weren't in each others lives. We haven't had any contact since."

"So, where does that leave all of us?" Charlie asked.

Veronica sighed. "I don't know. That's up to him. I would like to have another chance at being friends, but life rarely serves up second chances. At the very least I hope it doesn't interfere with your working together.

Charlie gave her wry smile. "I guess we'll find out. Why didn't you ever tell me about him?"

She looked at him, shrugged and said "I think I would have eventually. We haven't talked much about that time in my life. I guess I'm not real big on the disclosures either."

"And your past is my business only as much as it affects our present. Speaking of which, I have to ask. Were you in love with him?" Charlie's body went still, and he studied her face while waiting for her answer.

Veronica owed this truth to all three of them. Slowly, she nodded. "Yes. Charlie, it took me a long time to get over him. But I did." Putting her shoulders back, she straightened her posture. "Like I said, I think it would be great if we could find a way to be friends again, but that's up to Logan. After I give him a long overdue apology, we'll see."

"And we'll see how he feels about working with me next time we meet. But that's all the time we have for Logan today. Do you want to work off that breakfast?" Charlie asked, his eyes doing that cute wiggling thing she loved.

Stretching, she answered, "God, yes. I could use an hour on the treadmill, then a good swim. So, gym?

His voice dripping with sarcasm, Charlie said "Yeah, because that's what I was talking about."

**A/N Hang in there Marshmallows. Charlie needed a bit of backstory since V isn't so great on the disclosures. (Like Piz ever knew _anything_ about her, right?). Give it some time, I promise this is one boat Logan will rock.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So a couple of funny things. First, what started me thinking about this story was when I heard the premise for the VM movie. (Yeah!) Then it motivated me to read a bunch of other fanfics and I found an interesting pattern. Whenever LoVe meet in the future and she is with another guy, he is usually some tool that is easily disposed of to make way for Logan. But the Veronica we know and love is waayyy too smart for that, right? So, I wondered what would happen if Veronica was with someone truly great. At first I didn't want to give away that this is a LoVe story because I figured their journey was the interesting part. To make that interesting I had to spend some time establishing Veronica's and Charlie's relationship, right? But so many of you told me if it wasn't a LoVe story you weren't going to even bother reading it that I added disclosures from the beginning, and need to reiterate. I am a LoVe fan and they will always win out in the end. **

**Secondly, in the midst of all you readers championing for Logan and Veronicam and letting me know I had crossed a line, my husband read the first three chapters of this fic. His response? "Why the hell would you bring Logan into it? He's such a jackass."**

**When this was still a work-in-progress many contributed to a list for the guy who doesn't get it. 101 Reasons We Love Logan. That list is in Chapter 25, but I feel it could be so much longer. So, if you have an addition put it in a review (I do love those!), send me a PM, whatever it takes and I'll add it to the list. Remember, it is a Rated M fic so feel free to get creative! Thanks again for reading (and reviewing!). And now for Logan…**

Chapter 6

Monday morning Logan checked his calendar, already knowing what it said. He was scheduled to meet with Charlie McGeary at noon. The rest of the day was cleared to go over their most recent changes and discuss suggestions for the next few chapters of Charlie's book.

The reunion with Veronica had played over and over in his mind since Friday night. Charlie was tall enough that Logan had spotted him across the room. But, due to the crowd, it was impossible to identify the small blonde woman he was with. The shock he felt when he was close enough to realize it was Veronica was mirrored in her own face. It was obvious from her expression that Charlie hadn't mentioned him. Then again, maybe Charlie had called him by some nickname. Something stupid, like Jezzy.

At precisely noon, his secretary buzzed to let him know Charlie had arrived. The door opened and, oddly, Logan relaxed when he saw the tense look on Charlie's face. He started laughing and said, "Wow, what the hell did she tell you McGeary?"

Charlie lifted the messenger bag off his shoulder, dropped it to the ground and flopped onto the couch. He slouched against the back and looked at Logan with a cocked eyebrow, then muttered, "Probably as little as she could get away with, knowing her."

Then Charlie sat up, his posture showing he was on the defensive. "Logan, she told me how she ended things between you. She's a huge part of my life and if that's going get in the way of our working together, tell me now."

Logan would be damned if he would drop Charlie as his author, or as a friend. It had been Veronica's choice to cut him out of her life, she would just have to deal with the fact that he was back. He gave Charlie his patented smirk and said, "Charlie, it was a long time ago. I don't care anymore. So, what do you say we stop being girls and get to work?"

Charlie slumped back on the couch in evident relief. "Yeah, okay. To start with I'm not changing the vicar's name…"

* * *

Several hours later Logan threw down the manuscript and his red pencil. "Dude, I am starving as well as burnt out."

Charlie looked up from the pages and slowly focused after the fantasy world of his book had cleared his brain. "Yeah, I'm hungry. Do you want to order in?"

Logan's watch showed the late hour and caused hom to lift an eyebrow. "Umm… it's after eight. Don't you need to check in? She'll put a tracker on your cell phone if you give her a reason to worry."

His look quizzical, Charlie said, "She left town this morning, won't be back for a few weeks. But that tracker thing, can people really do that?"

With a chuckle Logan admitted, "Someone did it to me once, so yes. Why do you seem surprised? Ronnie and her dad use those gadgets all the time as P.I.s."

"Well they would be hard pressed to do it to me. I don't own a cell phone," Charlie said. "And neither _Veronica_," he stressed the name, "or her dad work as P.I.s anymore, so I guess it just didn't come up."

Logan's eyebrows shot up and he asked, "What are they doing now? I thought they'd never leave the snoop business."

"Keith is a sheriff in Oregon and Veronica is an FBI agent. A really good one. Her unit has an impressive conviction rate." The pride was evident in Charlie's voice.

Logan smirked. "No surprise there, she always was the best in the biz. The fact that I'm sitting here, instead of murdered by a biker gang, convinced me of her skill." At Charlie's look of surprise he continued. "One of those details she left out, huh? Not important."

When Charlie protested he gave in and explained. "In short, I was set up for a murder rap and arrested. My lawyers got me off and Veronica convinced the gang leader I didn't do it. You seriously didn't Google me after she told you about my history?" Logan asked, the skepticism evident on his face.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I already told you I don't use computers. I grew up without technology and am comfortable that way. I may have to make you the exception to the rule, though," he said wryly. He shook his head and continued, "Anyway, Veronica is out of town so I'm stagging it. I'm about ready to chew my own arm off. What do you say we hit the pub around the corner? They have killer wings and a dart board. My treat."

Logan quickly agreed when he realized Charlie didn't seem at any more anxious to go home than he was."Sounds good, but let's make it my treat. Save your money to pay for data entry work. I'm getting tired of reading pages that came off a 50 year old typewriter."

"If it was good enough for Hemingway and London, it's good enough for me," Charlie countered with a grin. "You'll live."

* * *

A while later, as they sipped their drafts and took turns at the dartboard, Charlie volunteered, "So, about a year ago my parents were visiting. They were filling us in on their travels and the work they had been doing. I told you about that, right?"

At Logan's nod Charlie continued. "They mentioned that when they were in El Salvador they had run into someone we used to know. A woman, by the name of Maria Guadalupe, who was now teaching in the school and how nice it was to see their work come full circle, blah blah blah. Anyway, I couldn't hear a word they said the rest of dinner because my brain had stopped working at 'Maria Guadalupe'." He laughed, "And my mom knew it too; she had a lot of fun talking around the subject the rest of the night. It wasn't until we were alone that I could ask her for more information. See, Lupe and I were sixteen when we met and she was…well let's just say a guy doesn't forget the first he girl he ever loved. She broke my heart when she dropped me for another guy, we moved away and I never saw or heard from her again."

"And the point of this non sequitur?" Logan asked.

"The point is you're dying to ask about Veronica, so go ahead. You've been trying to figure out a way to casually bring her up all day." Charlie teased.

Logan sniggered, sure he looked as chagrined as he felt. "Thanks for making me wait so long for it, man. I just always kind of wondered what happened to her. How about we start with how you two met?"

"Three years ago. I was researching a book on pretty, rich boys who beat murder raps—"

"Fuck you." Logan threw a fry at his head, which Charlie adroitly ducked, while he laughed.

"Do you remember my second book featured a rookie FBI agent and his first case, a multi-state killing spree of prostitutes set in the 40's?" Charlie asked.

Logan nodded. "Great book, the first of yours I ever read."

"Well, the FBI office let me shadow a couple of agents. Adam had been on the job a few years, but Veronica was just starting. I tell you, she was the last thing I was expecting when I pictured an FBI agent." Chuckling, Charlie took another sip of his beer.

"She is the classic example of why you should not judge a book by its cover," Logan agreed with a reluctant grin.

Charlie nodded. "Not only was she gorgeous, but funny as hell. It was her first week on the job and she was going through the typical hazing. She gave as good as she got, you know? At the end of the week I saw her take down a guy twice her size and wrestle him into handcuffs. It was…well, hot. When my shadowing was done I couldn't stop thinking about her, so I asked her out."

Logan gave him a hard stare and asked, with obvious judgment in his voice. "Doesn't that bother you? That she's out there wrestling gorillas that could hold her in their hand Faye Wray style and you're powerless to stop it?"

Charlie met his stare with one of his own. "Does it bother me? It terrifies me. Now, anyway. But at first though, I really did just think it was hot."

Logan had to give him that. At his nod of acknowledgement, Charlie went on. "As we spent more time together, and I grew to care about her, I started to lose it every time I saw a bruise or a scrape that showed how hard she had to fight. It almost broke us up."

Logan looked down in his glass and felt a strange sense of camaraderie with Veronica's boyfriend. He remembered his own inability to accept it when she put herself in jeopardy in the name of truth, justice, and the Mars way. "So how did you learn to deal with it?" he asked.

Shrugging, Charlie explained, "She sat me down and laid it out for me. She loves her job and can't see giving it up. If I love her then I have to not make her feel guilty for it. It was unreasonable to expect her to change just because we're together." He shrugged his shoulder before explaining the next part. "But I couldn't sleep when she was working, so we use the DEFCON system to rate the risk factor of her day. So, I don't worry unless she tells me to."

Logan frowned. "But the danger factor can turn on a dime. I've seen it happen."

"True, but it works for us. The few times she got really hurt I knew ahead of time she was at risk. Don't knock it, it's the only way I get any sleep. Bull's-eye!" Charlie yelled as his dart found the center of the board.

Logan nodded and picked up his own darts. It took every bit of willpower he possessed to not ask about the times she had gotten really hurt. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He didn't care anymore, right?


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I have nothing, I own nothing, I am nothing...Oh wait! I'm a Marshmallow!**

Chapter 7

Veronica entered the apartment at two in the morning, tip toeing as quietly as possible. The sight that greeted her was startling, to say the least; Logan Echolls sprawled out on her couch fast asleep with papers strewn around him.

Unable to contact Charlie the past couple of weeks, she'd had no idea his and Logan's friendship had progressed to the slumber party stage. In the dim light, Veronica studied Logan's sleeping form and noted how much younger he looked when he was asleep. Time had thinned a bit of the roundness from his cheeks, but at this moment he reminded her of the twelve-year-old boy she had met. Back when he could smile without a trace of irony.

Weariness overtook her and she treaded softly toward her bedroom, stopping first to remove her shoes, put them in one hand and lift her suitcase with the other. The bedroom was dark but, not wanting to wake Charlie with the light, she stripped and crawled into bed, tentatively curling her body around his. Sleep claimed her within seconds.

* * *

When she awoke the clock said it was only seven. She yawned and stretched, the intake of air redolent with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Charlie was still sound asleep beside her. Her confusion turned to understanding when she remembered finding Logan on the couch.

Quickly, she pulled on her yoga pants, a favorite cardigan, and a t-shirt before she slipped out of the bedroom. She found Logan in the kitchen. His back was to the doorway as he stood and looked out the window, sipping his coffee.

"Good morning," she said, causing him to jump and whirl around.

"Veronica! What the hell are you doing here?" Logan demanded.

She frowned as she spoke, "Um, I live here. What's your excuse?"

Logan's stiff posture belied the brief smile he offered. "Sorry, you just surprised me. Charlie and I have been working on his book night and day so I've crashed here a few times, mostly by accident. It won't happen again." He put his mug down by the sink and made to move past her, toward the living room.

Veronica reached out and put a hand on his arm, and he drew back as if she had touched him with a branding iron. As he backed up a couple of steps, he shoved his hands in his back pockets and anger surfaced fleetingly in his features. She wasn't surprised to see it. She tried to use her voice to sooth, though she knew it wouldn't help.

"Logan, its fine. You're as welcome here as any of our other friends. I'm actually glad to see you."

Their close proximity in the small kitchen allowed her to take tally of the changes seven years had wrought. His face was slightly more weathered, but it just lent him an air of rakishness. His morning shadow was fuller than the last time she'd seen it, but everything else was the same. His shoulders were broad and his figure trim and muscled, obvious evidence of the active lifestyle he'd always lived. His hair was the same light brown with a slight curl that she had loved to run her fingers through. His eyes were the still chocolate brown and served as windows to his every emotion, if you knew him as well as she did. This morning they became guarded as he tried to hide the anger that was emanating from his every pore.

"Well, we'll have to play old home week some other time. I'm actually late for something. Tell Charlie I'll call him later." He made to go through the doorway again but, when she wouldn't move, he stopped and looked at her, his expression cold.

Veronica subtly squared her feet to strengthen her stance, determined not to let him leave until he'd heard her out. She pleaded, "Logan, I know I don't have any right to ask, but I owe you an apology and an explanation that is long overdue. Will you please just give me five minutes?"

Logan studied her a moment, the defensive posture not lost on him. Apparently he weighed his options, then stepped back, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him. "I would have given you as much time as you needed seven years ago. Now, you get two minutes, but only for Charlie's sake."

Veronica nodded, acknowledging the concession. "Fair enough. Ok, I know that when I left for my internship things were…precarious with us. Then I made the unilateral decision to end us, and didn't even have the courage to come home or even call you. It was selfish and cowardly and if I got one Do Over in my life that would be it. I'm truly sorry, Logan. You deserved so much more from me."

Logan was quiet, as if waiting for something else. After a long moment he said, "But…?"

"But what?" she asked with a frown. She'd worked hard on the wording to that apology, saving it for when she could deliver it in person. Now he was brushing it aside, like it was inconsequential?

The anger was so evident in his voice she cringed a bit, and hoped Charlie wouldn't wake up. "But where's the reason, the justification for doing that? You were one of the few people in my life I thought I could count on. And then you just cut me out of your life. You are right, I deserved more. I still do. Like a reason. And you're down to one minute."

He was right. He was owed and explanation. She spoke fast, the words tumbling out of her. "There was a reason, Logan. What happened with Gorya Sorokin scared the hell out of me. In high school, when that fed kidnapped me at gunpoint, you came at him outside the Camelot and started pounding on him. You didn't know if he was armed, or alone, or what. Then at the River Stix you rescued me from the Fitzpatricks by comng in with an unloaded gun. In college you got yourself thrown in jail, and risked criminal charges, to beat up Mo and Mercer for what they did to me. Then you gave a pounding to a mobster for publicizing a sex tape I inadvertently made _with someone else_."

Incredulously, Logan demanded, "I loved you. What was I supposed to do?"

Veronica shook her head at him. She felt her stomach do a flip at his admission, and determined not to hold anything back. He deserved those words, after all these years.

"I loved you too. But, when it came to me, you lost all sense of self preservation. My internship at the FBI reinforced that that was what I wanted to do with my life. Which meant I was following a path that would intentionally put me in dangerous situations. Explain to me how that would have worked with the dynamics of our relationship?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, then Logan gave in to divert his gaze to the floor.

She took advantage of his silence to continue. "I still think I made the right right choice, but how I went about it was very wrong. And I'm so sorry." Her voice got softer as she next admitted, "The truth is, if I saw you or spoke to you at that time I'm not sure I could have gone through with it." Now it was she who was giving the floor an unprecedented amount of attention.

Logan sighed, one hand on his hip, while the other reached up to run a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty damn sure I wouldn't have let you. But Veronica, you have to know, it was about the worst thing anyone ever did to me. And you know that's saying a lot."

Veronica nodded, a solitary tear escaping her eye before she forced the others back. "I know it was. And I am so sorry. It's not an excuse, but I was in a really bad place at that time. So much happened after Lilly's murder, and it all caught up with me. Running away just seemed easier at the time." She pointed the thumbs of both hands at herself and said, "Coward."

He looked at her pensively before asking, "Are you happy? I mean with your job, Charlie, living in New York. Are you happy?"

She nodded, relieved that he hadn't stormed out yet. "Yes, with all of it. But, I've missed having you in my life. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to look you up in our database, or call you and ask about your life."

Logan became agitated and shoved his hands in his pockets. His voice got just a little louder as he asked, "Well then why didn't you? I can understand breaking up with me, but dumping me was the worst part of it. Do you know what it would have meant, if you had reached out? A phone call, a birthday or Christmas card? Something, anything to let me know you still gave a damn." The pain and hurt were so evident on his face that she felt a huge stab of guilt.

Veronica stepped a little closer to him, hoping he saw the truth in her eyes. "I did give a damn, Logan. I never stopped. But I guess...at first it was too soon. And then, it had been too long. I didn't know how to start. But if it makes any difference, I'm letting you know now. Do you think we could find our way back to being friends?"

He studied her for what felt like the longest time, his expression becoming skeptical. "Did you really not look me up? All those FBI resources at your fingertips and you didn't let your fingers do the walking?"

She rolled her eyes at that and gave a self-deprecating grin. "I came close, many times. It would have been sooo easy. But I didn't even Google you, or ask Mac and Wallace about you when you were all still at Hearst. It just…it felt like I had no right."

"That had to be the first time that ever stopped you," Logan mocked, and snorted. "But thanks, for at least giving me that. I honestly didn't think you had it in you." With a heavy sigh he offered the toke from the peace pipe she'd been hoping for.

"Look. Charlie and I are almost done with the final edit of his book but are working together nonstop until then. It's going to be a lot harder to keep up our pace if I'm trying to avoid you. So how about we make a deal."

"Terms?" Veronica asked.

"I'll consider your explanation and apology if you make me breakfast to go with the coffee I brewed. And you tell me why the hell Charlie calls you Jezzy. I've been asking him and he won't tell me. It's kind of been driving me nuts." Logan's conspiratorial grin gave her hope they could bridge the gap between them.

Veronica felt a surge of hope at the familiar smile. She laughed low and said, "Breakfast I can do. As for the other…" She poked her head into the living room to make sure they were still alone, and then cupped a hand around her mouth before whispering exaggeratedly, "It's short for Jezebel."

Logan cocked an eyebrow at her. "Maybe Charlie does know what he's gotten himself into with you."

* * *

As she put together a feast of blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and fruit salad, Veronica began the questions she had been dying to ask. "So, it seems you're up to speed on my life, but I know nothing about yours, except your job."

Logan sat at the table, watching her work and sipping his coffee. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything, as usual." After sharing a smile, she returned to mixing the pancake batter, determined to do justice to her part of the deal. "School. Did you stay at Hearst through graduation?"

With a nod Logan answered, "Yeah. The summer after sophomore year I got my own internship at a publishing house. Once I figured out that was I wanted to do, school became a priority. Really cut into my surfing time though."

Veronica glanced up at him before pouring the batter into the griddle. "Did you and Dick room together at the Grand the whole time?"

"No." Logan shook his head. "the first tier of my trust fund was running out so I had to get a cheap apartment. Once I turned twenty-one and the rest of the money came through, I was so buried at school it was just easier to stay there until I graduated."

"And after graduation?" Veronica asked, moving on to start the bacon while the pancakes browned.

"I moved to L.A. when I got a job with the same publishing house. I worked my way up through the ranks and got transferred here, thank god. I never want to live in that cesspool again." His expression was bitter as he spoke of L.A.

Veronica queried, "Can I ask…"

Logan chuckled knowingly. "Romantic interests? There was someone for a while, but it didn't last. Other than that I've been kind of busy building a career."

They shared a companionable silence as she finished the cooking, then brought the food to the table. When they started dishing up, Veronica worked up the nerve to ask. "What about you Logan? Are you happy?"

His pause as he was cutting up his pancake was almost imperceptible. Almost. "I'm as happy as it's possible for me to be at this point in my life. Work is my focus right now, and has been for a long time; I love what I do. I like New York, mostly because it's not L.A., and it seems I'm even making friends. Like Charlie," he said pointedly, just to let her know he hadn't totally forgiver her yet. "And I'm feasting on some fan-fucking-tastic blueberry pancakes. Good god Ronnie, where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Le Cordon Bleu." Veronica rolled her eyes, the smiled. Before they started dating, Logan had called her Ronnie all the time. The nickname brought back a lot of pleasant memories. "My dad taught me. He said I had to learn to cook for him as the king of his castle expects from his wenches, but really because he was tired of trying to fill me up."

"And how is the Oregonian sheriff these days? Charlie told me about the career change." Their talk moved into playing catch up and easier topics with fewer landmines.

* * *

Veronica put down her fork after using her final bite of pancake to mop up the syrup. "So you said you're doing the final edit of the book. That was incredibly fast; no wonder you've already made editor. Congratulations, by the way."

Logan nodded his acknowledgement. "Thanks, but I don't always work quite this fast. Working on Charlie's book has kept us both busy. Now that you're home, and the book is about done, I may have to start having a social life. Maybe even take out my boogie woogie shoes and trip the light fantastic."

She'd missed his wry humor and how he peppered his sentences with pop culture references. With a smile Veronica joked, "I thought you donated the boogie woogie shoes to that charity drive senior year? Or were those your boots that were made for walking? I forget."

Veronica had a thought and, before he could answer, a grin broke across her face. "By the way, could you try that sentence out on Charlie sometime when I'm around? I'd love to see the look on his face when he's trying to figure out what in the hell you're talking about." She carried her plate over and put it in the sink, then grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Humph," Logan snorted. "Yeah, our boy isn't one to pick up on movie quotes and song lyrics. No reaction at all when I told him I was late for a meeting with Abe Froman."

Veronica whirled around to face him. "He doesn't know The Sausage King of Chicago? That's it; Ferris Bueller is next on the list for our movie education nights." She came back and settled at the table with her mug. "Which are rare, he's not a big fan of movies. He came home when I was watching Top Gun a few months ago and wouldn't shut up about it for days. Let's just say, he was not impressed."

"Can you blame him? How Tom Cruise even has a career is beyond me."

"I know, right?! Anyway, he is even less a fan of those who make movies. Did he ever tell you about the meeting with a producer who was trying to purchase the screen rights to his first book?" The anticipation of sharing one of her favorite Charlie stories brought a mischievous grin to her face.

At Logan's shake of the head she continued. "The guy made the mistake of bringing a prospective script so Charlie could see all the changes they had made to the story. I thought I was going to have to handcuff him to keep him from strangling the man! Once he got done yelling, and the producer took off running, we were politely asked to leave the Four Seasons and not return until a fifth season came along." They were both laughing by this time.

When their laughter had settled into the occasional chuckle, Logan said. "Veronica, thank you for the breakfast, which was outstanding. And for everything you said earlier, you made some good points. I'm not saying that I'm not still mad, but it helps to finally understand."

"Well, thanks for understanding."

"I'm trying. And as my first gesture of forgiveness, I'll tell you where the chocolate croissants I bought are stashed, Logan teased.

At the mention of more food her face lit up and Veronica said, "Logan, I think this is the new beginning of a beautiful friendship."

**A/N: Finally some LoVe interaction! While I can't wait to get to the fun bantering moments, as well as the angst, they needed to build a bridge to get there. So, for those having a hard time with Charlie, I promise good things are in store! I like Charlie and I think he deserves he due considering what he's up against. As always, reviews feed my soul and fuel my writing.**

**As for the 101 Reasons We Love Logan list, thanks for the PMs! I have to agree with you Nicole, the Twirly Kiss made for some beautiful screen moments. And Delind – you're right, who wouldn't want someone as protective as Logan?! For me, I love that he always says what he feels, and he feels **_**so**_** much. What about you? PM me, put in your review, skywrite it, send a message in the bottle. However you get it to me I'll add it to the list which is published as the last chapter. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks again for the follows and reviews. Again, though this story is now complete, I would love to hear from you.  
**

**I'm enjoying all the Logan love out there. Jenilyn – you nailed it! His charisma, snark, sense of humor and quirkiness in that gorgeous package is kinda irresistible. Add in his humor, wit and one liners as an anonymous reviewer PMd me and…sorry, too busy swooning to write. Kris, I too love his inspirational messages—and his faux cheery voice when he records them. Missed boat here – they should have made a JD voice mail message as a kickstarter reward. **

**For all those who don't want to read any more Veronica and Charlie there is a section later in this chapter you won't love as it is one of the reasons for the M rating. But I'll give you a warning so you can skip that section if you wish.  
**

**Alas, I own nothing but if I could just borrow JD for a while…**

Chapter 8

Veronica stood in the break room at work the next morning, stirring her coffee and replaying the previous day's events in her head. Charlie had gotten up shortly after she and Logan had finished breakfast, oblivious to the drama that preceded his entrance to the kitchen. The guys caught her up on what she had missed during her last two weeks in Boston, and she told them what she could of the case she just finished working. When her yawns started to punctuate every sentence they sent her back to bed, reassuring her they were going to be spending the rest of the day working on the book. She woke up about the time they were finishing and Logan had treated them to takeout Chinese, since nobody felt like cooking.

Pursuant to their earlier conversation, she and Logan had made Charlie watch _Ferris Buellers Day Off. _He had actually loved it, with the exception of their saying most of the lines in tandem with the actors. Though things were still a little stilted between her and Logan, after a while they were making their usual jokes, eventually slipping into the banter they were both so good at. She smiled at the memory.

"So I take it you've been reunited and it feels so good, eh Rover?" Adam asked as he entered the kitchen and caught her smile. "Unless I'm misreading that dreamy expression on your face, Charlie Boy greeted you with a happy when he saw you got home safe and sound."

Veronica rolled her eyes at his ability to slip a sexual innuendo into every conversation. She definitely didn't want to start talking with him about Logan. Adam knew some of their history, and she had told him about the twist of fate that had brought Logan back into her life, but she wasn't ready to analyze their breakfast reunion. She figured she would just let him think he was right.

"You nailed it," she said, then winced. "Don't say it, I left myself wide open with that one."

Adam started to open his mouth and she grabbed his lips, pinching then shut with her fingers. "Dammit! I did it again! Just don't talk, okay?" Instead of nodding he reached down and tickled her instead. She laughed and let him go before she continued. "Yes homecoming was great as always. How did things go with Trent? And spare me the dirty details."

His lecherous grin told her he would do no such thing. "Then there wouldn't be anything to tell. The first couple of days back he waits on me hand and foot, as well as on his knees. He even manages to keep the bitchy at bay for a good 48 hours, so I may even get another blowjob tonight."

Veronica had clapped her hands over her ears while he spoke, and she lowed them slowly. "I'm sorry, are you done talking? I pretty much tuned you out when you put on your 'I'd rather be screwing' face. What say we get to the morning meeting before I have to make good on that sexual harassment suit?" She hooked her arm through his and pulled him through the doorway in the direction of the meeting room.

They found seats next to Jerry and Marjorie, among the other 30 or so other agents. Division Director David came in and took center stage, then waited until everyone had quieted before starting. "For three years the Bureau has been trying to bring down a particularly elusive operation that specialized in kidnapping children between the ages of 8 and 13, then exporting them for sale as child prostitutes and sex slaves. Due in no small part to the excellent work of our own agents, Adam Rogan and Veronica Mars, we were able to track down the leaders of this heinous operation to Boston and not only shut it down, but recover five children that had not yet been shipped and sold. They were also able to recover the operation's computer files before they were fully destroyed, so we hope to recover many more before we close the books on this one. I think these excellent agents deserve a round of applause."

Adam grabbed Veronica's hand and dragged her to the front of the room. He took several small bows in response to the clapping, catcalls and whistles from the other agents before allowing her to pull him back to their seats.

"This is a huge feather in our caps, but more importantly it is times like these we get to know that our work does make a difference. But, as always, there is more work to be done. There are several other ongoing investigations I would like to discuss so please save your personal congratulations for after the meeting. Moving on…"

When the meeting concluded, and Veronica and Adam had received the requisite handshakes and pats on the back from their coworkers, they followed Jerry and Marjorie to the director's office for their division meeting.

Director David came in right behind them, shut the door and took a seat behind his desk. "Mars, Rogan, I know the last few months haven't been easy. Other than a few more reports you are both shut of this case. The Boston kidnapping division will be finishing up. You did such an amazing job that I couldn't be prouder. I'm relieved to have you safe at home again."

"That being said," he continued, "I have another job for you to pitch in with. A man came to us a few weeks ago. Very rich, very powerful and very scared. Seems he has a little blackmail problem he needs our help with. Schneider," he said, nodding at Jerry.

Jerry started the debriefing, "So it seems Mr. Moneybags has a taste for hot young blondes. A taste neither his wife nor his congregation knows anything about. He's invited to a party a few months ago where he meets a treat and takes her back to his city apartment to have himself a good ol' time. Goes back home in the suburbs the next day and doesn't think about it again, unless he's in the shower or performing his husbandly duties. That is, until he gets a package in the mail, the contents of which are in this file." He handed Adam a manila file folder containing photos of a very recognizable face and gorgeous blonde in several compromising positions. Veronica leaned over to look through the file with him

Marjorie picked up the narrative. "In the file is also a copy of a letter he received explaining the girl, in addition to not being his wife, is only fifteen. Unless he pays two million dollars they're going to go public. He pays, thinks the problem has gone away. Until he gets another letter a couple months later stating he can pay another two million, or offer up another rich name to add to the guest list of the next party. Once that guest is vetted and starts attending, they'll let him off the hook. Instead he came here to us. From what he tells us of these parties they are invitation only with no plus ones allowed. No one knows who throws them; they only happen every three months in both Los Angeles and New York areas, and are some sort of fantasy adventure event. Everyone wears a disguise and uses a fake name so he couldn't give us much of a list of the other attendees."

Jerry further explained, "He did, however, give us the name of the guy who got him on the party list, as well as a couple of people he recognized despite the costumes. We've started looking into the finances of these three people and one of them made a cash withdrawal of 1.5 million a couple months ago. So, it looks like this isn't a one off, it's an extortion operation. This is a joint task deal between the accounting guys and us. They'll follow the money with a fine tooth comb while we figure out who the girl in the photo is. We need to get as much info as possible on the party and its attendees. If this letter is accurate we are dealing with children being involved as well as well as this being a multi-state operation, which makes it a federal problem."

"Did the invitation give any clues?" Adam asked, thumbing thru the pictures and letter he had been handed.

Marjorie answered, "A copy of it is in the file. Apparently, he was picked up in a limo and blindfolded so he doesn't know where the party was actually held. And, since the party location changes every time, we can't even put together a stakeout. Once the guys start getting fleeced they stop getting invited to the next party so that's a dead end. At this moment we are watching the money of the three attendees and if they take out a large cash amount, we'll follow them and see where they go with it. Right now we are keeping a low profile so we don't tip off the extortionists. Our witness is going to pay the next two million to buy us some time to solve this without revealing his dirty little secret."

Director David pointed to Adam and Veronica. "Schneider and Jameson are heading this one. You two follow their lead and help with whatever they need. You taking second seat on this one should allow you to get home nights, for at least a little while. Enjoy the rest until things heat up again. Dismissed."

They left his office to head for their desks, Adam still looking through the pictures. He walked ahead of Veronica while holding a photo of a position that the preacher could only have picked up in the Kama Sutra. "Hey Rover, I'm pretty good at physics and something tells me this would work particularly well given your and Charlie Boy's height difference. Ever tried it?" he suggested.

Veronica scoffed, "As if I'd tell you. My sex life is not for public consumption –"

"Speaking of public consumption, has he ever –, "Adam started before she jumped on his back, slapping her hand tightly over his mouth.

* * *

Veronica got home at a decent hour that night. It was a light duty day at work and she was still flying high from their win in Boston. The thought that she could sleep in her own bed for the foreseeable future had her feeling especially happy as she opened the door.

The apartment was dimly lit by candles, and a trail of rose petals led into the living room. Soft music wafted from speakers and the smell of a scrumptious dinner made the creature in her stomach growl interestedly. Charlie came out of the kitchen dressed in a sport jacket and tie, holding a rose out to her.

Veronica snorted, then cracked up, tears quickly pouring down her face as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh, God! Leave no cliché unturned. Do you have champagne chilling in a bucket too?"

Charlie's grin matched her levity. "And rose petals scattered on the bed."

She snorted at that, her laughter mellowing so she was able to catch her breath. "Wow, I have missed you." She crossed the room to punctuate her statement with a kiss. "I love you, Angelface."

"I love you too, Jezebel," he said, answering her kiss with one of his own. As heat between them grew, the kiss deepened.

Veronica asked, "Any chance our dinner could be put on hold for a while? While I am hungry, I haven't had a proper homecoming yet."

Charlie nodded, then explained. "I already turned off the oven. And sorry about yesterday, with Logan being here. But I did tell him to fuck off the next couple of days because my girl needs some serious courting."

Veronica's tone turned mocking. "I'm being courted? Courting is what's going on here? It's been a while since I've been good and truly courted."

**A/N: If you prefer, you can consider this the moment when the camera would span to the curtains, and skip reading until you see the next section of bold print. But it is not meant to be gratuitous-it serves as a comparison for a later scene. **

Charlie chuckled and drew her in for another kiss. One hand reached up to cup the back of her head, the other snaked around her waist to pull her even closer. His lips moved from her mouth to trace her jawline, ending by catching her earlobe in his teeth. At her gasp, he released it and whispered in her ear, "Courting or seduction, whatever you want to call it...it still ends with you lying naked and screaming on a bed of rose petals." His deep voice so close, as well as the promise he had just made, sent shivers down her spine.

She tipped her head away from his mouth with a low laugh, and then kissed him thoroughly. She placed her hands under his jacket to run her nails down his back, and then reached in front and loosened his tie.

They kissed their way toward the bedroom leaving a trail of clothes on the way. By the time they reached the bed neither had a thing left on when he lifted her, and lay her across the bedspread before settling on top of her.

"I thought you were kidding about the rose petals," Veronica chuckled.

"I wasn't kidding about any part of that statement," Charlie replied, looking into her eyes with such intensity all traces of laughter left her.

He leaned down and kissed her slowly, pressing just enough of his weight against her to make her want more. She could feel his hardness against her thighs and she longed to open them and take him into her at once. But when she moved her legs, instead of taking advantage of the easier access, he left her mouth and slowly worked his way down her neck, alternating between nips and kisses in a way designed to make her crazy.

Lifting up to put his weight on his knees, his head dipped to her left breast. His tongue lavished around her areola, then began to flick her nipple while holding it in his teeth. He then alternated his attentions with her other breast until she gave a deep moan.

After a few moments he stopped, resting his chin on her chest and looking up at her until she opened her eyes. Their cerulean blue locked on his emerald green, staying there and watching as he very deliberately lifted two fingers and moved his hand down to touch her at her center.

Veronica jolted and groaned, closing her eyes for a second before Charlie demanded, "Look at me, Jezebel." As ordered, she opened her eyes and looked at him while he began moving his fingers in and out. He crooked his fingers and hit her most sensitive spot with each stroke. If she closed her eyes he would stop until she opened them again with a silent plea for him to continue. Lesson learned, she forced her eyes to stay open and locked on his while he continued his work.

His slick fingers moved up to her clit, making her jump and let out a whimper. He grinned and leaned down to lay a trail of kisses on her stomach, moving his hand all the while. His head moved lower down her pelvis and she gave herself over to the pleasures of his actions. From experience she knew he found nothing more erotic than tasting her, and bringing her to the brink of orgasm, before entering her.

The removal of his skilled fingers drew a sound of dissatisfaction from her. He grabbed a pillow and lifted her lower half; strategically placing the pillow under her hips to allow better access, then settled himself between her thighs. He moved his head down to take a tentative taste at her opening. He moaned and used a hand to hold open her folds while his tongue worked up and down her labia, stopping to tease her clit occasionally. After a few minutes she began panting and thrusting her hips toward him so he knew she was ready. Once again crooking two fingers of his free hand he entered her and began massaging her G spot while he simultaneously worked his tongue clockwise around her clit to find her most sensitive spot today. He had told her once that the fact it changed each time he did this made it all the more fun.

Hearing her gasp at the four o'clock mark he stayed there, his tongue deliberately stroking that place faster and faster. Her breaths matched his speed, and her fingers wound into his hair. When she was on the brink of breaking apart his mouth and hands suddenly left her wanting.

He moved up onto his knees, then reached down with his left hand to grasp his cock and leaned over her, resting his weight on his extended right arm. He began to enter her slowly, pulling out and reentering her repeatedly, giving her just a little more of his considerable length each time. She groaned and lifted her hips to meet him, and take all of him inside her at once, impatient with his intention to keep things slow.

His gasp made her smile with satisfaction. As he began to thrust she met him with each stoke. Quickly he moved his hand to be able to thumb her clit moving ever quicker as their speed increased.

"Oh God! Fuck! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Veronica exclaimed. At her desperate cries both his hand and his hips picked up even more speed until she made the sound that tipped him over the edge.

"Jez, Jez! Oh God! Yes, Yes!" he uttered as her hips bucked, and he collapsed on top of her.

**For those who skipped that section, this is when the camera spans back to our couple, a trail of clothing visible down the hallway...**

Later, she sat cross legged on the bed, dressed in a t-shirt of his she had found draped over a chair. As usual after one of their lovemaking sessions she felt cared for, almost worshiped. He always made sure she was satisfied and derived his greatest pleasure from giving to her. Though she loved sex with him, sometimes she felt the scales were a little tipped. She missed being in control once in a while. While he gamely went along with it sometimes, she could always tell he was just waiting until it was his turn again. Therefore, most of the time she just followed his lead because…_damn, thank you man._ But the best part, she ruminated, is that he knew to feed her after. She used her fork to cut off a piece of her lasagna and put it in her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head with pleasure and she said, "Ohmigod. Consider me thoroughly courted, seduced, whatever. This tastes amazing." When he didn't answer she looked over and saw he was frowning and only idly picking at his food. "What's on your mind, Angelface?"

"I'm still trying to place that sound you make when you come. If I record it do you think one of your FBI sound experts could identify it? Definitely something feline, somewhere between a meow and a growl. It's still bugging me."

The piece of lasagna felt stuck in her throat as she thought, _maybe a bobcat?_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Disclaimer...yada yada...I own nothing...**

Chapter 9

Logan picked up his phone, cursing his assistant for daring to take a lunch. He hated to be interrupted when he was doing a first read on a manuscript almost as much as he hated an unanswered phone. "Echolls," he barked into the receiver.

"Mars," the caller barked back, with equal irritation in her voice.

He snorted. She always was quick. "Veronica. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Though he had been working fervently with Charlie in the week since she came home, it was always in his office and Charlie always left by six. Logan hadn't seen or talked to Veronica since the day she made him breakfast and apologized. They had come to a strange kind of peace, and he was reluctant to chance it by seeing each other too soon. But he had spent the better part of the last week going over everything she had said, and he realized he wasn't angry anymore. Once he put himself in her shoes he knew that, at the time, she didn't feel she had another choice. And it was so damn good to see her again.

Veronica explained, "I told Charlie I would call you. We're having a few work friends of mine over for dinner tomorrow night. Charlie wanted to know if he could have a friend over to play in case we talked shop. Are you busy?"

"Not monumentally busy. Is it all couples?" Logan asked.

"No on the couple thing, Lloyd, but it may still be a dare to be great situation."

Logan grinned, listening to her. Their banter was just one of the things he had missed. Veronica continued, "It's just a small group; my partner Adam and his boyfriend, and a couple other agents from my division. We do this a lot; we're kind of each other's second family. But feel free to bring someone. It's a totally casual, come as you are thing."

He sighed. "Sounds better than my current Friday night plans. Which are sadly becoming a tradition of a six pack of Guinness and a Halo marathon with my thirty-year old neighbor, who lives with his mother and has a neck beard. I'm in. Can I bring anything?"

"Not a thing. And that includes Neckbeard. Seven good?" Veronica asked.

"Seven is heaven." Logan answered.

Her pause was lengthy. "Did you really just say that?"

Logan could feel her grin through the phone, enjoying their repartee as much as he was. "See you then," he confirmed When he hung up, he pondered the turn his life had taken. Six years ago he was the center of an L.A. party group and Veronica was at the top of the People I Hate Who Are Still Living list. Now he was practically a shut in, and the highlight of his month was a dinner invite with her and Charlie. He picked up the invitation he'd thrown in the toss pile of mail this morning:

_Come One, Come Only You_

_To an _

_Evening of Adventure_

Maybe it was time to broaden his horizons. He had been in New York more than two months and his only friends in town were Charlie and, just maybe, Veronica. He had been receiving these invitations for over a year, but had never accepted one, since the last thing he needed in L.A. was another party. Before he could second guess himself, he marked accept on the RSVP card and stuck it in the outgoing mail.

* * *

Friday night, Logan knocked on Veronica and Charlie's door carrying a bottle of Cab and a twelve pack of Corona. After work he had taken the time to go home and put on his jeans and favorite orange pullover. He was damn sick of slacks and suits, and she had said it was casual.

Veronica opened the door, also in jeans and a pullover the exact blue of her eyes. Her hair was in a lopsided bun with haphazard tendrils fallen loose and her face was void of makeup, making her appear so much younger than her twenty-six years. She looked like every childhood memory he had of her, and his voice stuck in his throat.

She stood there for a long moment studying him in his youthful clothes, seeming to take the same walk down memory lane. She broke first, affecting a casual air. "Logan, you made it. Come on in, we're just waiting on Adam and Trent. Thanks." She waved him in, took the wine and closed the door behind him.

When they reached the living room Veronica introduced the man and woman talking to Charlie. "Logan this is Marjorie and Jerry, good friends and my co-workers. M&J, this is Logan, Charlie's editor and an old friend of mine." After grabbing the beer from him, she excused herself to the kitchen to finish up dinner.

Logan shook their hands and exchange pleasantries, but caught the look Jerry and Marjorie exchanged when they thought his attention was diverted greeting Charlie. Though his favorite author may have been clueless about Logan's background, the feds who worked with Veronica sure as hell knew who he was. He mentally kicked himself for accepting this invitation; it promised to be a tense night.

Jerry and Marjorie started in on the polite chitchat, asking Logan how he was liking New York and questioning him about the publishing business. A knock at the door brought Veronica from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel she had tucked into her waistband.

When the door was opened a male voice exclaimed loudly, "Veronica! Good god babe, are you sure you're old enough to have a job? Put your hair in pigtails and you could be used as bait in one of those sting operations!" Trying hard not to roll his eyes, Logan noticed Charlie blanch noticeably at the remark. It was his first clue that Charlie didn't take her job in stride.

"Jeez, Trent. And I keep thinking Adam is the inappropriate one." Veronica laughed and squeezed the blonde, moderately handsome man around the waist as they entered the living room together arm in arm.

Before he saw him, Logan heard the deep, rugged timbre of whom he could only assume was Adam, her partner. "I've got nothing on this queen. He could shock Margaret Cho, Bobby Brown and Richard Pryor in the middle of a three-way."

As they came into the living room it was clear the voice belonged to a tall man with movie star good looks; with dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes and broad shoulders he looked like Superman incarnate. Everything about him said Panty Dropping Ladies' Man. Even when he affectionately kissed his boyfriend in laughing apology for the barb, it didn't set off the gaydar Logan had developed growing up in the entertainment world.

Logan steeled himself for more of the surreptitious looks when he was introduced to the new couple, but he quickly realized Adam saved anything covert for when he was in the field. Coming forward to shake his hand he said, "Logan Echolls. Wow. Not often someone with your dossier willingly walks into a room full of feds. May I admire your balls?"

Laughing, Logan took the hand held out to him and gave it a firm shake. "Admire, yes. Fondle, no. Though even that would be an improvement over the violations you cops usually commit upon my person. Nice to meet you Adam."

Trent grabbed Logan's hand in both of his the second it was free. "Logan, I have to confess. When Adam told me you were going to be here tonight I got so excited. I've had a crush on you for years. There's just something about a bad boy." He winked at Logan before letting his hand go.

"Sorry to disappoint Trent, but the bad in this boy is of the past. Though I have to say, the worst decisions do make the best stories." Logan winked back at Trent, and could swear the guy blushed. The realization that he was flirting with an unavailable gay man reinforced that he needed to vamp up his social life.

Veronica interrupted just then to announce, "Now that everyone has met, soup's on. And I mean that literally; we're just having chili and cornbread. Everything is set up so help yourself, as usual."

Obviously at home in the couple's apartment everyone else did just that, sitting on the floor around the large coffee table and digging in like they'd done it a hundred times before. Logan followed their lead, comfortable helping himself after all they time he had spent there with Charlie.

The conversation was kept light and fun, volleying around a wide range of topics from Marjorie's cats, the latest starlet scandal, and some of the interesting things that had happened in the agents' work. To the delight of Adam and Trent, Logan shared a couple of hell raising stories that hadn't made it into his FBI required reading file; he and Weevil putting the vice principal's car on a flagpole being one.

Charlie looked surprised at that. "I didn't know Weevil was your friend as well as Veronica's. Do you still keep in touch?"

Logan and Veronica's eyes met briefly, and he could tell she turned away quickly to hide a smile. He answered, "Not exactly friends, we just had a few things in common. I haven't seen him since he got arrested at our high school graduation." He snapped his finger as if he just had an epiphany. "No wait! Actually I saw him once after that when he was getting arrested in the parking lot at Hearst." He looked at Veronica curiously, "So how is the criminal element of Neptune?"

"No longer a criminal, nor a Neptunian. And you should talk. By my count, the crime rate in Neptune went down by half when the two of you started to walk the straight and narrow," Veronica mocked.

"I remember you doing the perp walk a time or two yourself," Logan reminded her.

"Rover! Why don't I know about this? " Adam asked, turning to her in shock.

"Because nothing stuck. The sheriff was an idiot and an ass that had it out for me. May he rest in peace. Or not." She shrugged and continued sprinkling her cornbread over the chili.

Logan caught Charlie eying her with one eyebrow cocked in question, and she rolled her eyes and shook her head in response. He realized there were more things she hadn't told him about her past, other than their history. Something Adam had said was bugging him though. He turned to Adam, his face a mixture of confusion and mirth. "Um, Rover?"

Adam chuckled and answered the question intrinsic in the word, "What is that machine on Mars that trolls around digging up data and sending it back to earth?"

Letting the mirth win, Logan started to laugh and said, "The Mars Rover. That's actually kind of perfect."

Kitchen cleanup was a group activity, the washed bowls being recycled to dish up the ice cream waiting in in the freezer. Whipped cream, syrups, nuts and maraschino cherries were passed around so they could all personalize their sundaes.

Later, lingering over the residue of ice cream in their bowls, talk turned to work. Charlie, Logan and Trent tried to needle the other four into talking about the case they were currently working. Marjorie broke first, stating she couldn't holdout against three gorgeous men.

"Okay, I can't tell you why we are looking into it. Let's just say there's a party everyone wants to go to but nobody should. If you get an invite that says _Come one, Come only you_ check no on the RSVP."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Ok, I **_**promise**_** no more scenes like Chapter 8 with Charlie. Though I have nothing against a gratuitous sex scene here or there-and I kind of expect them in the rated M fanfics-it was done to serve a purpose. Not one I'm hitting you over the head with but it should come clearer with time.**

**More reasons to add to our 101 Reasons We Love Logan list. Jenilyn, you nailed it. His vulnerability was one of the most appealing things about him. He always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. And SilverLining2k6, though I'm not sure if you meant this to be added to the list I'm doing it anyway. You are so right. He's Logan freaking Echolls – larger than life! **

**So…why do you love Logan? Maybe tell me in a review… I know, I know, I'm shameless. I can live with that.**

**I own nothing, nada, zip, zilch...**

Chapter 10

Monday morning Veronica's phone was ringing just as she reached her desk. Quickly setting down her coffee and bag, she removed her coat while she answered the phone. "Mars."

"Echolls." Logan snapped in reply.

She smiled and switched the phone to her other ear while she threw the coat over the back of her chair and took a seat. "Hey. I was going to call you today. I wanted to tell you Charlie and I had a great time Friday. We're so glad you came."

The irritation was evident in his voice when he spoke. "I wish you had called me. It would have saved me from getting transferred no less than twelve times before I reached you. How does anybody get anything done there?"

"We don't usually. We just have good press. What's up?" Veronica inquired.

Logan hesitated a moment. "Actually, I need to talk to you. Do you have time to meet me for lunch today?"

"Just me?" It felt a little early in the renewal of their friendship to be meeting without Charlie. Her curiosity was piqued.

"Yeah. It's not personal or I would invite Charlie too. I want to run something by you, something FBI related." he answered.

Veronica's mind whirled with the possibilities, most of of them not good. "O-kay," she agreed, drawing out the two syllables. "There is a Thai place about three doors down from my office, called Thai Bistro. Does one o'clock work?"

"I'll be there. And don't go over thinking it, I'm not in trouble," he reassured her.

She couldn't help smiling at that. "How do you know that's what I'm thinking?"

"Because some things never do, and never will change Mars. You're kind of predictable. See you at one," he said before he hung up.

* * *

Veronica walked into the restaurant right on time and found him already waiting for her. After placing their orders she jumped right into it. "You said this was FBI related?"

Logan crossed his arms on the table and leaned toward her. "Yeah, do you remember Conner Larkin?"

She batted her eyes and pulled a dreamy look on her face. "Hmm, let me think…Conner Larkin…star of the highest grossing action movie series of all time, sucks at poker, and one of only five guys I can think for whom wearing a shirt should be illegal? The name is vaguely familiar."

Logan smirked; he knew she had been carrying the crush since high school. "Well, your ab-licious fantasy boyfriend and I have kept in light touch over the years. He still sucks at poker, by the way. Anyhow, he kept trying to get me to go to these parties in L.A.. Now that I'm here I got one for the New York location."

He slid the invitation across the table to her. He could tell that just reading the first line made all the synapses in her brain start rapid-firing. Veronica looked up at him, her eyes wide. "It's this Friday. Did you accept?"

"Sent in my RSVP last week. It's another Friday free of Neckbeard. He's gonna be stuck playing Halo with his mom. Again." Logan gave her a satisfied grin, he felt like a boy who knows he done good.

When she looked back at him, after studying the invitation again, her eyes sparked. "Logan, you gave us a huge break. Thank you so much, we'll get started on this right away. But please, take my advice and stay as far away from this party as you can."

"But then, how can I help?" Logan asked. He'd been intrigued by the little Marjorie had said about the case, and was excited to get involved. It was fate that threw the invitation on his desk, right?

Veronica put her hand on his arm and leaned toward him, her expression sincere. "You already have, more than you even know. Now it's on us." Their food arrived and, looking at her watch, she dug in with her usual gusto.

Logan pushed, convinced he could be a help. She'd always tried to keep him away from her work but, in this case, he was already involved. "I can do a lot more. You'll never get past the tight security. Guests go through a serious evaluation process. Conner couldn't tell me anything else because he signed a confidentiality agreement."

Veronica sat back, her expression turning hard. "When you say you can do more, just what are you suggesting?"

Eagerness overrode caution and he offered, "Give me a wire, a hidden camera. I can gather intel. Probably more intel in one night than you can get in a month."

She shook her head. "Logan, I appreciate your offer but we've already got someone who's been on the inside. We just needed to know when the next party was. Thank you, but we've got this. Also, I can't put you in any danger. The biggest help would be if you didn't even go to the party."

"Somehow I thought you'd say that. So I risked your stupid phone tree again to call in reinforcements. You should really work on that whole being predicable thing." Logan half rose from his seat and beckoned to someone by the door.

Adam waved back at him and worked his way toward their table. "Rover, hey. I didn't realize I was second shift. What's going on?" he questioned.

The waiter approached their table and took Adam's order, but the promise of pending food didn't stop him from picking up a fork and starting in on Veronica's plate. "So, is anybody going to tell me what this is about, or are we just here to prove Rover's jaw can unhinge like a snake's?"

Logan's fork froze halfway to his mouth at the question. It was comical to watch the byplay as Veronica fixed Adam with a hard glare. A solid _thunk _ was followed by Adam's sharp intake of breath, then comprehension flooded the guy's face as he realized the double entenre of his own remark, and that he had said it in front of her ex.

Adam started coughing to cover up his laugh and attempted to salvage the moment. He turned to Logan and explained, "I mean you've seen her eat right? I bet she could put an entire burger in her mouth in one bite."

* * *

Veronica looked away until the awkward moment could pass. She forced herself to tune in as Logan quickly filled Adam in about the invitation and his bright idea to play sleuth at the party. But what Logan hadn't factored in was that Veronica and Adam had spent more time together in the last three years than they had with their respective boyfriends. They had whiled away countless boring hours in cars and on stakeouts, and endured endless weeks living in close quarters on assignments. He probably knew her as well as Keith, Charlie and Logan put together. Their eyes met for only a moment, but it was long enough for Adam to know to tell Logan, "Thanks, but I think the invitation alone is the break we needed. We can't thank you enough, but I think your involvement is best ended here."

Logan looked hard at both of them before piercing her with an angry look. He stood up and threw some bills on the table before curtly saying, "Fine. You always did like doing everything your way." He stormed toward the restaurant entrance like he couldn't reach it fast enough.

Unfazed, Adam shoved a forkful of her lunch in his mouth and said, "I think I just met the guy you told me about. I wondered where he was hiding on Friday night."

With a heavy sigh she ran out to catch up with Logan. She was surprised to find he was just in front of the restaurant, standing on the sidewalk. He was softly kicking the street light post and looking down at his feet. When he looked up at her approach, his expression was sheepish.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stormed out like that. Believe it or not I am working on not being such an ass. But I don't see any reason not to go. I'm not an idiot; I know going in to be careful. And whatever you're looking for, I'll find it."

The look he wore reminded her of a puppy begging for scraps."Logan, I cannot risk your safety by sanctioning your involvement in this case. Can you understand?"

He looked amused. "I understand you learned to talk like a real fed. That was kind of eerie. Ok, I have to get back to the office. Tell Adam thanks for me, and maybe we can have a do-over lunch without all the drama. Soon?"

She nodded and said her goodbyes before going back in the restaurant to rescue the remains of her meal from Adam, after she killed him.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and PMs. You all are a hilarious group; you cracked me up more than a few times today. Thanks all for complimenting me on my brass cajones for giving Veronica a "non-douchey" boyfriend, for saying you can't wait for Logan to make himself a pain in the ass, and for all the Logan love out there. SilverLining26 mentioned his forehead wrinkles, puppy dog eyes and extensive library of eyebrow bobs-each with a different meaning. MSVasco wrote that he is sexy, has that way rich boys are misunderstood, his sarcasm, his many quotes with references, his inspirational messages, his way of going 'hero' every time Veronica was in danger, his gaze, and his epic speech. I couldn't agree more! And you know it wouldn't be a LoVe future fic if the epic speech wasn't brought up at some point, so hang in there. It's not for a while but I think it makes for a great moment. (I only tease because I can—I mean care!)**

Chapter 11

Friday night, Veronica sat in the unmarked FBI sedan, with Adam fidgeting in the driver's seat next to her. After several minutes of this she turned to him irritably. "If you need to find a loo, I think I can handle the boring door watching by myself for a few minutes."

Adam snapped back at her. "I don't need to pee, and who says loo anyway? I'm just bored." He sighed heavily, then turned to face her, "But hey, as long as we're getting personal, that Logan is _hot. _No disrespect to Trent but I was about ready to beg him to bend me over your coffee table Friday night."

Choking on the sip of coffee she had just taken, Veronica sputtered, "Oh my god. Thank you for that mental image."

Adam chuckled. "Cut the innocent act, Mars. If you were able to keep a man like that interested, there's more to you than meets the eye."

"Shut up!" Veronica punched him in the arm. "And what is that supposed to mean, anyway? I've kept Charlie happy for three years, so I must bring something to the bedroom. "

"Oh please. I'll admit I was a bit of a slut before I met Trent." Adam grinned lasciviously. "Ok, more than just a bit. But FBI profiling skills and my slut cred means I can narrow potential knee knockers down to two words. While-"

Veronica interrupted, "Wait, is that what we were learning in profiling? I knew I got the answers to that test wrong."

Adam just ignored her and went on as if she hadn't spoken, "While Charlie would be no slouch, his words are Caring and Dedicated. But Logan? If I had to guess I would say his two words are Intense and Inventive. He'd need a willing partner to keep things interesting."

Shock jolted through her body. She did her best to make her voice as casual as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a detailed conversation about Logan and sex. She'd been trying too hard to avoid thinking of him in that vein at all; things were complicated enough between them.

"I'm not going to confirm or deny regarding Charlie, but for Logan I'll have to take your word for it. It was all a really long time ago."

The study he made of her face was followed by a low chuckle. "Yet your blush tells me your memory is better than you admit…and speak of the handsome devil." He pointed to the entrance of the club they were staking out, where Logan was just getting out of a cab and making his way to the door.

"Gorramit all to hell!" Veronica yelled. "I told him to stay away from that party! Let's go." She exited the car, holstering her gun and slamming the door in one motion. She should have known better, despite all appearances that he had grown up. Now they were rushing across the street and risking blowing their cover to save his ass.

Her anger fueled her run and Adam was hard pressed to catch up. Reaching the bouncer at the door, she stopped to pull out her badge.

"Name?" He asked, looking down at his clipboard.

"J. Edgar Hoover. We need in. Now." Tiny as she was, the look on her face carried more weight in that moment than the badge she waved in front of him. He shrugged, stepped back and waved them through.

As she opened the door, the techno music playing at full volume made the floor under their feet vibrate. Blue and pink spotlights danced through the club and strips of pink neon lights circled the walls. The only bright spots were the bars at each end of the room. She and Adam split up, each to sweep half the room before meeting at the dance floor in the center. Neither spotted any sign of Logan.

* * *

Checking his phone for messages, Logan noted it was after four a.m. when he unlocked the door to his apartment. A part of him was surprised to find there were no messages; maybe she hadn't been the one on stakeout tonight_. _A huge yawn escaped him as he kicked the door shut and reached out to turn on the foyer light. When he remained in darkness he frowned, then flipped the switch a few times to no avail. He shrugged and threw his keys down on the table before stumbling toward the living room and the huge soft, couch he knew was waiting.

Fatigue was replaced with adrenaline when a light switched on to reveal someone sitting in his easy chair. He was instantly alert and squaring off, ready for a fight.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" Veronica's voice reached him, sounding insincere and sickly sweet. She stood and walked toward him, seven feet of fury in a five foot body.

"Good! How do you think I've felt all night sitting here? I _TOLD _you not to go that party. I_ TOLD _you we would handle it. But as usual, you just went off half-cocked and charged in. Blind! Unprotected! You didn't even know what you're supposed to be looking for; you just found trouble and put yourself right in the middle of it!"

Logan stood there listening to her tirade. He had known that going to the party would piss her off, and he would be lying if he didn't admit to himself that it was part of the reason he had done it. The small, petty part that was still a little mad at her for leaving so long ago. But mostly, he had done it because it had seemed exciting, a lark. His life had been far too tame lately and he couldn't resist the opportunity to liven it up. It had been his party invitation after all, and despite her secrecy some things weren't that hard to figure out. He rolled his eyes and matched her tone.

"Veronica, give me a little credit! Everyone who goes to that party is rich and successful. It costs a shitload of money to put on. It's not that hard to figure out that money is the end game. I knew I could handle it!"

She screamed right back at him. "Of course you can! You're Logan Echolls! You're the Fort Knox of men and nothing can break through. Not even common sense!"

In her fury she had come right up to him and was standing less than an inch away. Every nerve ending in his body was standing at attention in response to her proximity. Her blue eyes sparked and the color was high in her cheeks. She was beautiful; a tiny Valkyrie ready for battle and, in that instant, he wanted to take her on. Their eyes locked and it took every ounce of his willpower not to reach out and take her in his arms, to _take_ her. He couldn't even remember what had brought her here tonight, and he couldn't make sense of her words.

As she stared into his eyes her challenging expression became one of confusion. She backed away from him and picked her bag off the floor. Tossing him the light bulb she had removed from his foyer, she ordered, "My office, Monday morning, 9am. Don't be late."

Logan stood rooted in his spot, unable to move until she had slammed the front door behind her. He slumped to the couch, putting his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. His mind was a jumble of words and images, his only coherent thought a litany. _Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…_

* * *

Veronica opened her eyes, stretching and groaning. She was so tired. So very tired. Diving right into this case so soon after coming off the last one had left her drained. Maybe, if they timed it right, she and Charlie could go on a vacation. Maybe when he was done with his book and they had tied up this extortion coalition. She turned over to see if he was awake, but found only a pillow where his head would be. A glance at at his bedside clock told her it was after one-thirty in the afternoon. He'd been asleep when she got in at five, after leaving Logan's, and it had been a while after that before she was able to quiet her mind and body enough to drift off.

She lay there and thought about Logan. About why he still had the ability to make her so crazy. Three years with Charlie and not once had he ever made her as mad as she was last night. But Logan, Logan had always been able to push her buttons, good and bad. He knew her too well. Her thoughts wandered to that moment in his apartment when they had been standing so close to each other, yelling, and she had suddenly felt...and that line of thinking had to be shut down immediately. Veronica sighed, looking up at the ceiling. She convinced herself that he'd just gotten her riled up, it didn't mean anything_._

She got out of bed, shrugged on a sweater and pajama pants, then pushed her feet into a pair of slippers. When she shuffled out to the living room she saw Charlie sitting on the couch, a pad of manila stationary propped on top of a pillow in his lap. He was scribbling furiously, but stopped when he saw her walk into the room.

Veronica jumped over his legs, landing on the other side of the couch, and shifted to put her feet against his thigh. "Whatcha working on?" she asked.

Charlie tossed the pad of paper on the coffee table and leaned back, pulling her feet across his lap. "A letter to my parents, I haven't written in a couple of weeks and I don't want them to worry." He looked at her. "You got in late."

"Yeah, long stakeout." She sighed and leaned back into the side of the couch, yawning hugely and stretching her arms over her head before giving him a languid smile. "What were you up to last night?"

He shrugged, "Mostly writing. I'm waiting for the final galleys to come in to be checked over, and decided to work on a new idea that's been floating around in my head for a while. Went to the gym, noshed on a falafel. Not a Friday night to write home about," he indicated the stationary pad, "but Mom gets anxious if she doesn't get at least a couple letters a month."

"So, should we have an adventure that would be worth writing about?" Veronica suggested.

Charlie grinned,"I just crossed the line between enjoying my own company to being bored as hell, so I'm pretty much up for anything. Name it."

She thought for a moment, then offered, "Maybe go to that awesome paintball place again? Call up Adam and Trent to join, get some dinner after, and maybe hit a movie if there's anything good out."

He grinned. "Only if I get to be on your team. Trent shoots like he was born with webbed fingers, and you are as vicious as a honey badger. I love to hear Trent scream when you hit him, but he gets too whiny and bitchy when Adam or I do. What about Logan? He's probably not up to anything."

"No!" Veronica said too quickly, too forcefully. At his sharp glance she tempered her outburst with, "We haven't done anything just the four of us in a long time. We'll invite him to the next thing, okay?"

Charlie's pause was just long enough that she knew he recognized her attempt to cover, he just didn't know _what_ she was covering. But one of the best things about Charlie was he allowed her room for secrets, as long as she didn't lie to him. Unlike their DEFCON compromise, this was an unspoken agreement they had worked out over time. He knew she had a hard time opening up, and with her job there was a lot she couldn't tell him. He rarely pushed her and she never appreciated the trust he placed in her silences more than she did now.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks to ShanghaiLily for editing advise, and for reminding me how Logan is always touching Veronica or sweeping her hair back, especially when they kiss. Who could resist that kind of affection?**

**(Sigh) I own nothing, except maybe Adam. I've grown quite fond of him at this point so I think I'll keep him.**

Chapter 12 – New Recruit

Veronica and Adam entered FBI New York Headquarters at the same time Monday morning. They went through security and rode the elevator in companionable silence, she lost in thought about the meeting to come and he giving her the time she needed to think. Once they had reached their desks and stowed their civilian belongings, he finally broached the elephant in the room.

"Logan is going to be here in an hour. What's the plan?" Adam asked.

She sighed. "Well, this is Jerry and Marjorie's deal. I already gave them a heads up. They'll take the lead with Logan this morning; I don't even need to be in the room. It's up to you if you want to join them, or be with me on the other side of the observation mirror. Jerry's a little pissed that Logan disappeared like that since they were surveying the back of the club, so it should be kind of fun to watch." She grinned a bit, picturing the ass chewing Jerry had planned for her erstwhile …Friend? Ex-Lover? Pain in the Ass?

Adam nodded. "Sounds good. And hey, thanks for Saturday. That was a lot of fun. I'm always down for shooting people when I don't have to write a ten page report after. Plus, I got bonus points for taking that paintball for Trent." He waggled his eyebrows to let her know just what those bonus points earned him.

Veronica ignored the unwanted information and focused on their double date. "That was a blast. We lucked out on the movie too. Can you believe Charlie had never seen _The Philadelphia Story_? He went out and bought his first DVD yesterday so he could watch it again. Then he asked me if any of the actors made any other movies."

Adam rolled his eyes. "I love Charlie Boy but his parents should be charged with neglect. Who is almost thirty that hasn't seen The First Lady of Cinema spar with Spencer Tracy? The Ordinary Hero talk to an imaginary six foot rabbit? He was definitely born in the wrong decade. Hell, the wrong century."

Her nod of agreement was short. "I know. It's one of my favorite things about him. Anyway we should finish our reports about Friday night before the meeting…."

* * *

At nine o'clock she and Adam were on the observation side of a two way mirror watching Logan be escorted to his seat by an intern. They smirked at each other when he figured out there was no way out of the room after waiting for five bored minutes, and had given up pounding on the door five minutes after that. He'd spent his time since pacing irritably and checking his watch every twenty seconds.

Adam chuckled and sat back, kicking up to enjoy the show like it was a movie. "Jerry is fucking with him. I love it. Logan has no idea what he's in for."

While part of Veronica enjoyed seeing Logan's annoyance, she was anxious to get the meeting started. The sooner they got his information about the party, the sooner he was out of this mess and life could get back to normal. She breathed a sigh of relief when Jerry and Marjorie finally entered the room at 9:15.

Adam's smile grew only wider when Jerry ignored all pretense of pleasantry by pointing Logan into a chair and ordering tersely, "Sit down, hotshot."

Logan's demeanor instantly shifted, and Veronica knew the smart ass had come out to play. She silently pleaded with him to knock it off. This was going to go from bad to worse if he treated Jerry like Don Lamb.

His tone overly pleasant in response to Jerry's order, Logan responded, "Well, I don't mind if I do, since you asked so nicely. How are you Jerry, Marjorie?" Taking his seat he plastered a large, smarmy smile across his face.

Logan's sarcastic politeness was met with only a stoic expression by Jerry. He had no better luck with Marjorie who irritatingly said, "What do you say we cut the crap, Logan, and just get this done."

Realizing he had won over no friends in the room, nor participants in his favorite game of verbal fencing, Logan arrogantly waved his hand for them to continue.

Jerry uncapped his pen and poised to take notes. "Just so we're clear, you approached Agents Mars and Rogan with information about a secretive party, a party you knew was of special interest to the FBI. You were thanked for the information and requested to not attend the party for your own protection. Against this advice you instead attended said party. We had agents at both the front and back of the club. You entered at 8:04pm and when agents entered the club at 8:07, you had disappeared. The club has no cellar or other exits. Where did you go?"

"A hidden tunnel off the storage room downstairs. It led to a stairway and tunnel that opened into an alley in what I would guess to be a block over. My escort mentioned something about the club being a speakeasy at one point. Apparently one the FBI never uncovered." Logan smiled sardonically at Jerry when tacking on the last tidbit.

Unamused, Jerry fixed him with a glare before continuing. "And what happened when you entered the alley?"

Logan continued to act like the whole interview was a lark. He told Jerry, "I was attacked by what looked like a vampire, but was saved by a tiny blonde woman with a wooden stake. Weirdest thing."

As Jerry threw down his pen in irritation, Logan allowed his anger to show in his tone. "What is your problem, Jerry? You wanted to find out more about this party and I got in. I'm planning on being fully cooperative and telling you everything I know, so why am I being treated like a criminal?"

Jerry stood slowly and placed his hands flat on the table, then leaned forward to stare down Logan. His words were laced with frost. "Criminals we shoot. You knowingly put yourself at risk after specifically being requested by agents of this department to do the opposite. You are being treated with as much civility as I can muster under the circumstances, _Mr. Echolls_. Now, what happened when you entered the alley?"

Logan attempted to meet his stare, but the look in Jerry's eyes made it clear he would never outlast the older man. He wisely chose to dial back the smart ass schtick, though it went against his nature to drop it entirely. "I was put in a limo which had windows too dark to see out of, and was requested to turn off my cell phone and hand it over with my wallet, which were put in a silver bag and sealed. I signed the seal so I could tell if it had been broken, like a urine sample. Then I had to sign a confidentiality agreement. After, we drove for about twenty minutes. When we stopped they opened the door in front of an elevator in a parking garage. I got in the elevator which went down. While in the elevator my escort scanned me with something that I assume looks for bugs and recording devices. I was patted down meticulously enough that I think he owes me a dinner, before being given a mask and a name tag."

Obviously familiar with this scenario Jerry asked, "Could you tell where you were? What did the mask look like and did you use your real name on your name tag?"

Logan rolled his eyes and deadpanned. "Yeah, I could tell I was in a parking garage in New York City, so that should be easy to narrow down. The mask was just a black cloth that covered my hair and the top half of my face, leaving holes for my eyes and no, I was instructed to choose a noun for my name tag, no proper nouns allowed."

"And you chose?" Marjorie asked.

He looked at the mirror and, though it was impossible to see through it, managed to lock eyes with Veronica before saying, "Bobcat."

When she heard his pet nickname for her roll off his tongue, a hundred memories flashed through Veronica's mind at once, most of them carnal. He had played that name occasionally when teasing her, but mostly pulled it out during foreplay or when trying to seduce her. He had also used it as a code word when they were with a group of people to let her know he couldn't wait to get her alone. Hearing it again while staring into his eyes, a jolt of remembered desire shot through her, and caused her to gasp slightly in surprise. She felt immensely grateful he wasn't in the same room with her when she reacted, but was irritated that Adam was.

Cocking an eyebrow at her Adam asked, "Do I even want to know? ...Scratch that, I definitely want to know."

"It's nothing Adam, just residual mindfuckery from our past. Let it go." Veronica said, exasperated.

Adam drawled, "Yeah, like that's going to happen. It will just go in the file for the next time we're on stakeout and bored out of our minds."

Veronica ignored him and went back to listening to Logan's description of the party. "…so here we are, 50 or so of the elite of the Big Apple drinking cocktails and chatting about anything and nothing. No names or careers were allowed to be shared, so it was a lot of mindless chit chat and reminiscences about past parties since they change the theme every time. At first, I thought the party was getting more guests because there was less and less room to spread out. When I really paid attention though, I realized the room was slowly narrowing. The walls actually moving in, changing the square layout into a rectangle. Then a door lit up at one end, and painted on it were the words Enter Me. So, realizing the adventure had started, well, we went down the rabbit hole."

Jerry was furiously scribbling notes through this, so Marjorie picked up the line of questioning, "What does that mean?"

"We went through this wild maze, obviously inspired by Alice in Wonderland. It was creepy and surprising and took about three hours to get through." Logan grinned at her. "It was kind of a blast, like being at a theme park without all the screaming kids. Then we ended up in the same room where they had laid out a feast for us, Eat Me, Drink Me style. We drank, ate, and danced until the wee small hours of the morning when the limo ride thing was reversed to drop me off a block from my apartment."

Marjorie leaned forward and inquired, "Did you recognize anyone, or get any identifying information from the other participants?"

Logan shook his head. "Nothing concrete. I was the only newbie and everyone stuck to the rules of the game pretty well, keeping themselves as anonymous as possible. There were no couples or groups of friends. A few mentioned how hard it was to keep the party from their partners, but they all seemed to get off on having a bit of a secret life. There was one guy though, I'd know him if I saw him again. We spent a fair part of the night talking about swing dancing, and he told me about a club he goes to every Tuesday night."

"If we brought a sketch artist in here could you describe him?" Marjorie asked.

"Sure." Logan confirmed, then launched into a description. "Average size, mid 20s. Brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian, 5'10" to 6 feet tall. Majority of his face covered by a black mask. I'd know him if I saw him but all your sketch artist will get is a picture of Batman's sidekick. But I have a better idea."

Jerry stopped writing and fixed him with a warning glare. "Just what are you suggesting?"

"I'll go to this club, find the guy and figure out who he is." Logan offered.

Jerry and Marjorie looked at each other, and then stood up. Jerry tersely ordered Logan, "Wait here."

"Is that an order or a request, Jerry?" Logan asked.

With all deliberation Jerry put down the pad of paper and pen he was holding. He crossed his arms and stared hard at Logan for a moment. Veronica watched this face off with trepidation. While on the outside Logan appeared as unflappable as ever, she had to wonder what was going on in his head. She knew that from the time he was small he had been faced down by his hulk of a father who yelled and hit, taking the brunt of fury from a psychotic jackass who had selected him as his personal target. But Aaron had nothing on Jerry for being able to create fear in just a glance. When the man spoke, he made no attempt to hide the hell hounds pacing under his reasonable speech.

"Let's get something straight here, _Mr. Echolls_. Despite a specific request not to, you elbowed your way into this investigation. _My _investigation. Civilian or not you will see your part through to my satisfaction. During that time you will follow my every order, treating me and my team with nothing less than the respect we deserve. You will not go renegade again, or do anything else to compromise my investigation, or put my agents at risk. Are we clear?" Jerry demanded.

Veronica almost laughed out loud when Logan looked down in contrition. Proud he might be, but he wasn't stupid. All traces of smarminess gone from his demeanor, he simply replied, "Yes, sir."

With a nod Jerry headed for the door, which Veronica hit the switch to unlock. Marjorie followed and they left Logan alone in the room to slump and put his head in his hands.

Returning fifteen minutes later, their instructions were concise. "Be ready at eight o'clock tomorrow night, dressed appropriately for the venue. An agent will show up at your apartment and escort you to the club where you will attempt to identify the other party attendee you mentioned. The agent will give you further instructions tomorrow."

Wisely, Logan only nodded and said, "Yes, sir," before following the same intern out of the office.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I own nothing. It's starting to feel like I've said that before.**

Chapter 13

At eight o'clock the next night, Logan was nattily dressed in a vintage suit with high-waisted, pleated pants and suspenders topped with a matching fedora. After a quick look in the mirror he decided to doff the hat and, grabbing the matching wide-shouldered suit jacket, he headed out to the living room to await the agent Jerry had assigned him.

As he passed by the foyer he heard a knock at the door, and opened it to find Veronica, gorgeously decked out in vintage wear as well. He drank in the sight of her with her hair up, and sporting bright red lipstick, looking like she just walked off an ad for war bonds. Her bright yellow dress had a flared skirt that stopped just at the knees, and when she walked past him into the apartment he couldn't help but follow the stocking seams from the chunky heels she wore all the way until they disappeared under her dress.

"Nice threads doll. For a G-man you clean up real good."

Veronica turned and took in his attire as well, a reluctant smile passing her lips briefly. "Well, it was important to blend. You didn't do too bad yourself. Just had that lying around, did you?"

Logan shrugged modestly. "You're the predictable one. I may have a surprise or two left up my sleeve. And apparently Jerry does too. I had no idea he was sending you."

She sighed and admitted, "He gave me the option, but I volunteered. I wanted to talk to you, about Friday night. I'm sorry. I had no right to break into your apartment like that. You had every right to press charges and I appreciate that you didn't."

His playful mood changed to one of surprise, then irritation. "Veronica, you know me better than that. I'm the one that should be apologizing anyway. You and Jerry were right to call me out for going to that party, so here it is. I'm sorry. I hereby endeavor to only do what I can to make things easier, and not hinder this investigation."

"So, we're good?" Veronica asked.

Logan smirked at her. Their relationship was a strange mixture of familiar and awkward, and he hoped hanging out tonight would make things easier. "Yes, we're good. What do you say we try to get through the rest of the evening without having to apologize to each other again?"

Veronica chuckled and nodded her head. "Sounds like a worthwhile goal. Let's go, we're cabbing it and Adam is expecting us about eight-thirty."

They headed out, riding the elevator down and waiting while his doorman hailed a cab for them. Once they were headed for the club Logan asked, "So what's our back story, you know, for our cover?"

Biting her lip to unsuccessfully hold back a smile, Veronica asked, "I hadn't thought we needed one. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking I could call you Betty, and you could call me Al."

Veronica let out a laugh at that one. "I think we can keep it simple. Just Logan and Veronica, old friends who like swing dancing." When he nodded, Veronica got down to business.

"Ok, here's the deal. You and I are going to go in, blend, and move around to see if we can spot your guy. Adam is there posing as a photographer for an online website. Once we see your man, I send Adam the signal and he gets pictures, and after than we are off the hook. Jerry and Marjorie will follow the guy from there. It's a very simple operation, Get in, get the picture, get out. Got it?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, tonight we are getting some…thing." Smirking at her obvious exasperation, Logan said, "I got it. Simplicity at its' finest. Relax."

When they pulled up outside the club, large neon letters spelled out 'It Don't Mean a Thing'. Logan's attempt to pay the cabdriver was rebuffed with an, "I get expenses," thrown over Veronica's shoulder. When she was done paying he held open the door and reached out a hand to help her from the cab.

It was a simple thing, holding her hand for just long enough to find her own feet, but it felt charged with an undercurrent of recognition. Her small hand in his larger one felt all too familiar, and he had to shut down that train of thought before it could take hold. Instead, he moved his hand to the small of her back while he escorted her to the entrance of the club. Watching her pay their cover charge, he was reminded of other times he had joined on her P.I. cases to which she could bill expenses. It was the only time he had let her pay for anything.

Though it was early, the club was already hopping. The room was a riot of color as women in bright dresses were twirled and flipped on the dance floor. Tables were quickly filling with people staking a claim for the evening so they would have a place to rest their feet in between numbers. Patrons stood three-deep at the bar trying to get drinks. In the corner was an elevated stage where a fifteen piece band created a sound that was irresistible.

Logan grabbed Veronica's hand again, taking the lead and pulling her toward the dance floor. When she resisted he leaned in and told her, directly in her ear to be heard over the music, that their guy would be in the middle of the action and not on the sidelines. She nodded and followed him until he stopped suddenly when they reached the floor, turning to face her. A new song had just started, and again he leaned in and spoke in her ear.

"I'll keep it simple, just follow my lead. I'll keep an eye out for him as we go around."

Veronica nodded, waited for the moment it took him to find the beat, and then followed him as he began some basic, low key dance steps. He couldn't help the surprise showing on his face when she kept up with his every the move. She took over the lead for a couple of minutes and challenged him to step up his game, laughing when he did so.

When he once again he took the reins, he stopped holding back and found they were well matched. They jumped and jived their way through three numbers before she seemed to decide they had enjoyed enough play time and they needed to get to work. The next song was a slow one, and he moved in close and snaked his hand around her waist to rest in the small of her back while hers lifted to rest on his shoulder.

Picking up Veronica's other hand, Logan began to lead her in a waltz. With effort he ignored the familiarity of the close embrace and watched her as she looked around for Adam. He knew she had spotted him at the edge of the dance floor when she blinked her eyes three times, obviously their signal that she knew where he was.

Veronica casually asked, "So, think you'll be able to spot your guy in this crowd?"

Logan grinned down at her. "I already spotted him, two songs ago. He's right behind you, blue coat and red tie." He turned her around, casually as part of their dance, so she could see the man he had singled out. Once back in his arms he again watched as she locked eyes with Adam, and did her signature head tilt. He saw her partner nod and continue taking pictures in their direction, so he knew she had been understood.

"Well, now that our work is done, where the hell did you learn to dance like this?" Veronica asked, a huge smile breaking across her face.

Logan laughed quietly before admitting, "My mom actually. It was kind of our thing to do whenever Aaron when out of town. He never could dance and it pissed him off that we had so much fun doing it, so it became something we hid from him." He looked down at her, confused that she had stopped moving with him. She was just standing there, her arms locked and staring up at him, agape.

She shook her head, as if to clear it, then inquired with wonder, "Wait…you could always dance? How did I not know this?"

Shrugging, Logan smiled down at her, embarrassed. "Because I was a stupid kid. What teenager is going to go around saying that he dances around the house with his mom? Or that he likes it?"

They resumed dancing, the slow song making conversation easy. Logan saw the sympathy in her eyes at his words, as he finished his tale. "Then when she was gone, I didn't want to dance anymore because it was something that was just ours. It's just recently I realized that I missed it. And since my house burnt down it was really the only thing I had left from her, so I started going to dance clubs like this one. What about you?"

Veronica smiled and tilted her head toward her partner again. "Adam, actually. When we became partners he made it clear I either had to find a dance class or a new partner. He said I would be amazed how often it can come in handy on the job." She smirked, "And it has, though that has more to do with him than anything else."

Logan laughed, picturing the hilarious, fun-loving agent. "I bet. What about Charlie? Is he a fan of the Lindy Hop?"

Teeth bit her lower lip as Veronica held back a smile. "Um, no. Charlie dances as well as you sing. He tried one class with me and, about halfway through, the teacher refunded his money and advised him to stick to writing. Advice he was more than happy to take." They shared a laugh, then applauded as the song came to a close and the band announced they were taking a break.

Seeing their mystery man move toward a table with his partner, Logan leaned in and suggested, "Hey, what if you go see if you can convince them to share their table, and I'll get us drinks? With you chatting them up, you'll know not only his name, but his whole life story in 5 minutes. Make Jerry and Marjorie's jobs easy tonight."

Logan was caught off guard when her easy smile quickly disappeared, to be replaced with a look of wrath. She seemed on the verge of laying into him, but instead stomped heavily on his foot before turning to make it for the door. He caught her arm and spun her to face him.

What the hell was that for?!"

They both became aware they were starting to draw attention, with their faces both set in fury only inches apart and his hand obviously holding her arm captive. Veronica hissed, "Outside, now," and yanked her arm from his grasp, finally heading for the exit.

When she reached the street, Logan was right on her heels. A passing cab was hailed with her ear splitting whistle and clambered in. Once they pulled away from the club and were safe from prying eyes Veronica unleashed her anger full force. "You will never learn will you? We had one objective and one objective only. Identify your mystery man from the party! We did that, we were done. But you always have to be the superhero, don't you? You still have no regard for your own safety or anyone else's?!"

Logan had never been able to back down in the face of her anger and didn't see any reason to start now. "A friendly chat in a crowded club. How in hell does that jeopardize anyone's safety, Veronica?"

Veronica threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know Logan! But that is exactly the point, you don't either. You don't give a damn about your own safety, but what about mine? You make me memorable to this guy, or anyone who might be tailing him, and they decide to look closely at me, a Fed. The point is we don't know enough to know if we can take that risk, or if it means putting a target on my back. On both our backs. We don't know who they are or how far they can reach."

He bit back his response and gave himself a moment to truly process what she had said. Once it had sunk in, Logan blanched. "Veronica, I'm-I never thought-." His brown eyes turned to her, intense and pleading, searching for any sign of forgiveness.

Veronica ignored his apology and continued to rant, further driving her point home. "No, you didn't think. But it's not your job to think, Logan. You shouldn't even be here. You put yourself in the middle of this against my every wish. This is the big leagues; it isn't something you can just play at for a laugh when you feel like it. You don't know what these people are capable of."

Logan felt sick to his stomach at the thought that his actions could have gotten her hurt. Where the hell did he get off being so cocky? Thinking he knew better than four trained FBI agents? "I get it, I really do. I'm sorry. I won't ever interfere again. I swear, I am out."

She sat back and turned away from him, crossing her arms and staring out the window. But he saw the corner of her mouth twitch, and was grateful for the signal that her anger seemed to be abating. He knew if he could just get her to laugh she'd forgive him. "Veronica, please. I was idiot; I was too stupid to truly realize being an FBI agent was like being a midget at a urinal."

Veronica's sudden laughter at that was a balm to them both. "Always on your toes? Yeah, that is pretty much it. You have to be aware of every possible angle at every possible moment so you're covered."

She sighed and smiled at him. "So much for the goal of getting through the night without another apology. Was that your second, or your third tonight?" When Logan held up three fingers she snorted. "Apology accepted. Since you will _never _be involved in another one of my cases I'm willing to consider this matter closed. Fair enough?"

Logan leaned back against the seat and rolled his head to look at her. He really did want their friendship to work. Other than Dick, he was the only person that who shared a history with him. The tumultuous evening had reminded him how much he had always loved hanging out with her. She had always made him laugh, and didn't put up with his crap.

"More than fair. So where do we go from here?"

"Back to our regularly scheduled programming. And we don't breathe a word of this to Charlie. Agreed?"

He couldn't help but sigh in relief at that. Charlie was the last person he wanted to know about anything that had happened this past week. "Agreed."

**A/N – Wow! Thanks for all the kudos on the last couple of chapters, and for hanging in there with this story to let Logan and Veronica work toward that moment in his apartment after the party. When I thought about what would follow for them, I realized after a week of not speaking they would most likely pretend the moment hadn't happened. They didn't give into their baser desires so they neither had to admit to what they were feeling in that moment. If they did, it could jeopardize their budding friendship and their new places in each other's lives. So for those who were hoping this was it, I promise I have a plan. I want to see them together as much as you do.**

**Thanks for SilverLinings2k6 for the writing tip that I hope will make this read so much better than it would have been otherwise. And you are so right, his mindfuckery is so hot. I'm also going to throw another one on the 101 Reasons We Love Logan - all that is implied in 3.01 when Veronica says "Woof!"**

**I appreciate everyone who keeps coming back to read the new updates, review or not. My wish is that you enjoy the story as much as I'm enjoyied writing it. But for those who do like sending a kind word or two, or another item to add to our Logan list, my inbox is always open...**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I own the air in my lungs, the blood in my veins, and the polish on my toenails. Veronica Mars, not so much  
**

Chapter 14

Adam was already at his desk when Veronica came into work the next day. Throwing a quick hello over her shoulder, she set about firing up her computer and putting away her personal items so she could start her workday. She should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Once seated, she heard Adam roll up behind her and begrudgingly complied when he swiveled her chair around so she could face him. "Nice try, Mars. You know you're going to tell me what that was all about last night," he demanded.

She shrugged. "It was nothing Adam, just Logan irritating me." When she tried to turn her chair back around he reached out and grabbed a hold of the arms, keeping her facing him.

"Uh huh. And exactly what did he do to irritate you? Because it looked like you were getting along great up to that point." His look told her he wasn't going to let her out of this until she explained.

Veronica sighed exasperatedly. "He just pushed, you know? I told him before we got there that our only task was to ID the man he met at the party. That you, Jerry and Marjorie would take it from there. But, he suggested we ask the guy to share his table so we could chat him up and find out who he is."

His eyebrow cocked, Adam asked, "And that was a bad idea, why?"

"Because that wasn't the job. He was there for one reason and one reason only," she explained.

"I guess, but that doesn't explain the hissy fit you threw. Stomping on his foot, really Mars?" Adam looked a little amused at the memory, but the fact that he was still using her real name told her he was still not satisfied with her explanation.

Veronica laughed a little, remembering her pique last night. "Okay, maybe I went a little overboard." Her laughter was short lived, however, as she thought about the end of the evening. "I really was mad at first, but I may have laid it on a little thick in the cab ride home," she admitted ruefully. "I told him he was putting my life in danger by being so reckless. He was always been a little overprotective of me, and I feel bad using that against him. But I didn't know how else to make sure he backs off from this party thing."

Adam nodded, then was quiet for a moment before he mused aloud, ticking off his points on his fingers. "I'm trying to connect the dots here. When Logan brought that invitation to us I was all for taking advantage of it. But, without question, I supported you when you didn't want him involved. Jerry had no way of getting an undercover agent into the party and also wanted to jump at the chance to use Logan. You begged him not to, and he gave in because he adores you, as you well know."

At her embarrassed nod he continued. "When Logan went anyway, you asked Jerry to try and scare him." Veronica looked at him in surprise and Adam rolled his eyes. "Oh please, Jerry filled me in on that right after Logan left. Then, when we needed an agent to go with Logan to the club, you volunteered so you could keep an eye on him. When he saw an opportunity to dig deeper, you squelched it. Why are you so against him helping us out?"

She tried to mentally sort through her reasons before she explained herself. Adam knew the basics of her history with Logan but there was a lot she hadn't told him. "One, and this isn't to be discounted, Logan is…unpredictable. He rarely does what you expect him to. Two, he has no problem putting his safety in jeopardy. He'll cross the line from brave to foolish without a moment's thought. And lastly," she paused, "I need to keep his role in my life very clear. FRIEND. I can't have him bleeding over into my work life. And I can't work with him and keep lying to Charlie about it."

Adam studied her as he considered her words, then asked, "Even if he could be a big help in solving this case?"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Oh please, there won't be another party for three months and I really hope it doesn't take that long. In the meantime, nobody is dying. A bunch of rich guys have to pay to cover up their bad behavior. Cry me a river, but leave my friend out of it, okay?"

Adam nodded, but his look told her she wasn't off the hook yet. "Okay. But what else? Is there something going on between the two of you?"

She felt like she had been walking a tightrope since that moment in Logan's apartment Friday night. In the midst of their fighting she had been, as much as it chagrined her to admit it, incredibly turned on. Then it had happened again when he had used his pet nickname for her during Jerry's interrogation. Since they had run into each other again, so many memories had come to the surface, more than a few of them sexual. She hadn't talked to anybody about it but, when Adam asked, she realized he was the perfect person to confide in. Despite all his jokes and teasing, he was one of her best friends and the keeper of many of her secrets. Why not this one?

Veronica sighed and leaned back in her chair. "No. Yes. It's all just so complicated. There are all these different layers to our relationship. He's one of my favorite people in the world, and one the few that really get me. We have so much history together, but it's all ancient history. Us trying to be friends again is still so new, you know?"

Adam nodded thoughtfully. She ran through every moment she had spent with Logan since Judith's party, then asked, "Do you realize that, since we reconnected, we've seen each other exactly seven times, and four of those were connected to this case? When we're just hanging out and being friends, it's great. Weird, and we're still setting into it, but it's great. When he brought us that invitation it just...it scared me."

"Because you were afraid for him?" Adam prompted.

"No. I mean, yes, there was that element to it. But I was more afraid for us," Veronica admitted.

"So...you and Logan are an us?" Adam queried.

She shook her head to negate the conclusion he was drawing. "Not like that. See, Charlie is a kind of buffer and he keeps the lines between us very clear. But I wasn't sure we could handle being alone, and I was right to be. There have been a couple of moments that have been…intense. They wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for this damn case."

Adam nodded his understanding then said, "I get it, it's a sexual hangover. Well, you have a three choices. One, you dump Charlie for Mr. Intense." She glared at him and shook her head so he continued. "Good choice. Two, you cut Logan out of your life to remove the complication."

Veronica thought about what that would mean. She loved being around him again. They had so much fun together and were doing well before this damn case came up. Logan and Charlie got on great and she had to acknowledge how much they were both enjoying their friendship. Severing her ties with Logan would likely serve to harm his and Charlie's friendship, as well as their working relationship.

"I'll take option three for five hundred, Alec," she requested.

He smiled and clasped his hands behind his head, enjoying his moment as sage. "Hang out together more. Always with other people around so those intense moments can't come up. After a while it just becomes normal. You just have to give it time to make the transition."

Quietly, she considered this for a moment. Maybe Adam was right. They just needed time to adjust to their new roles in each others lives; roles that didn't involve them ending every argument in a lip lock.

Adam snapped his fingers and leaned forward, then offered, "Remember we were talking about Trent and I doing dinner at our place Friday? What do you say I invite Logan to join us?"

She sighed with relief, eased both by being able to talk, and by knowing Adam was there to help her through it. She nodded at him, and forcibly tamped down the little flare of thrill she felt knowing she would be seeing him soon.

* * *

The night at the swing club weighed heavily on Logan. He had manipulated a situation that had Veronica sneaking around with him, behind Charlie's back. Official capacity or not, that night hadn't been all about business. He couldn't get the image of how beautiful she had looked in her swing gear and retro hairstyle to leave his mind. The way she had danced, every movement in tandem to his, reminded him of other times their bodies had moved together. If that weren't enough, sharing the memory of dancing with his mother had turned their time on the floor into a personal experience.

The thing that Dick, and everyone else for that matter, had never understood about Veronica and him was that they _were _friends. She was never just a girlfriend, or just an ex. It was why he was so hurt when she ex-communicated him and why, after all this time, he could be content that she had found someone who made her happy. They had both grown up and moved on, and it seemed serendipitous that, in making his first new friend in years, he had reconnected with Veronica.

The problem was, though history had proven they didn't work as a couple, time hadn't turned him into a unic. He recognized his reaction to her for what it was; being her friend didn't mean he stopped noticing that she was drop dead gorgeous. He was bolstered by the realization that, without a doubt, Wallace and Weevil had experienced the same thing over the years. If they could ignore it, so could he. Though he had to admit that it didn't help that he hadn't slept with anyone since breaking up with that whore, Melissa.

Logan knew he had crossed a line on Tuesday night—he smirked to think of her stomping on his foot and storming away—and was worried that it had put their budding friendship in jeopardy. They needed to hang out with Charlie, free of this case, and see if they could do some damage control. It would probably help if he started dating again—actual dates with quality women who insisted on a courting period before falling into bed with him. At the moment Veronica was the only woman in his life, in any capacity, and that probably made him blow his physical response to her out of proportion.

After he resolved that he would call Charlie later and make plans for the three of them to get together, as well as find someone to take on a date this weekend, he got down to work. Of course, that was the moment his phone rang. After a moment his assistant buzzed through.

"Logan, there's an Adam Rogan on the line. He said he's a Special Agent with the FBI and he needs to ask you a few questions." The curiosity and suspicion in her voice had him smirking before he picked up the line.

"Echolls here. What can I do for you Agent Rogan? Besides letting my assistant start the office gossip that I'm being investigated by the FBI. Thanks for that." Logan's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Adam's feigned innocence didn't fool him for a second. "What?! Oh, I'm so sorry. I really did have a few questions for you and thought if it was a personal call you might not be able to take it at work."

"Yeah, because I work at McDonalds," Logan answered drily. "What do you need, the drive thru line is getting really backed up."

Adam gave a low laugh before extending his invite. "Well, Trent and I were talking and decided to have a dinner at our place Friday night. Jerry and Marjorie are working, but Rover said she and Charlie boy can come. Trent was hoping I could ask you since he's still nursing that crush. So what do you say, are you free?"

Without hesitation, Logan answered, "Yeah, sounds good. I might be bringing someone though, if that's okay."

Adam agreed, "Fine by me. Just do me a favor and flirt with Trent a little. I have a feeling it will make the rest of my night after you all go home much better."

Logan took a moment to process Adam's request. "Dude, did you just ask me to _fluff_ your boyfriend?" he asked, starting to rethink the dinner invitation.

Adam's chuckle resonated through the ear pierce, "Well, they do say there's no such thing as a free lunch. Speaking of which, can you bring a bottle of that same wine you brought to Rover's? I think we can pair it with something a little better than chili. Say about 7:30? The fluffing I will leave entirely to your discretion."

Logan couldn't help but laugh as well. "Wine I can do. Have Veronica text me the address and I'll see you then."

* * *

As he knocked on Adam's door Friday night, Logan started to seriously question his judgment. He couldn't believe he was at a dinner where he had been asked to get the boyfriend of his host hot, or that he had brought-

"Logan! I'm so glad you could make it. Everyone else is here, already. And you brought a friend, great. Hi I'm Trent, welcome. Yeah, you brought the wine. We've wanted to have another go at this." Trent waived them in, his breathless prattle not letting Logan get a word in edgewise.

The apartment was a loft located in what was once a warehouse. It had high ceilings, brick walls and a homey, gorgeous decor that Logan's discerning eye could tell was done on a budget, but thought it was all the better for it. A lot of refurbished pieces blended in with items that were re-purposed for new uses, such as the old wooden windows that were backed with fabric and hung on the wall. Though it was dark he could only image the views the multitude of long windows on the east wall would let in.

He could see Veronica and Charlie in the living room, and turned when he heard someone coming out a door to the left. After a double take, he realized it was Weevil, with hair no less. He smirked and decided to great his old nemesis first.

"Hi, I'm Logan Echolls. You must be a friend of Adam and Trent's. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand for a friendly shake, which was ignored.

Charlie spoke up before Weevil could. "Logan, this is Veronica's friend from high school, Weevil. I thought you guys knew each other?"

Logan gave Weevil an evil grin before saying. "My mistake. Your kind all look alike and I guess the hair through me off. Finally got a job that allows you to afford shampoo? Wow you are moving up in the world."

Weevil sniggered and said, "Apparently not if I'm at a social event that includes you." He turned and looked at Veronica and said drily, "You know I thought you were kidding."

"That's what makes this so funny," Veronica deadpanned. "Hey Logan and…Dick Casablancas?"

"In the flesh, Ronnicans. How the hell are you?" Dick stepped around Logan and crossed the room in three strides, scooping her up for a big hug. "Damn girl. You look hotter than ever. Yeow!" Putting her down he looked at Charlie and asked her, "Who is this dude?"

Veronica looked like she'd rather crawl under the rug than introduce the two men. Logan knew he should feel a little bad for bringing Dick, but was also amused at how uncomfortable she looked.

"Ummm, Dick this is my boyfriend, Charlie McGeary. Charlie, Dick Casablancas. We, umm, we went to school together."

The men shook hands, Dick repeating the process with Adam and Trent after introductions were made. Logan could swear Trent blushed a bit when shaking Dick's hand. He couldn't help but grin, realizing Dick had done the fluffing for him. But, what the hell, Dick would probably be flattered if he knew.

Adam, who missed nothing, gave Logan a silently mouthed "Thank You" after watching the exchange, then made an announcement. "So, bad news all. Trent and I had a little miscommunication about dinner. Apparently we both bought the salad fixings but neither bought the ingredients for the main course. So pizza will be here in about 30 minutes. Can I get anybody a drink to start?"

Logan was pointedly ignoring the death glare Veronica had fixed him with. When Dick called Wednesday night and said he was in town what could he do? She'd find a way to deal; he was harmless.

Drink orders were taken all around, most choosing to pair their pizza with a beer. Once Trent and Adam were underway fulfilling everyone's requests, Dick turned back to Veronica. "Actually, Ronnie do you mind if we talk for a moment? You know, like, privately?

Her surprise was obvious on her face. Logan couldn't imagine what in the world Dick Casablancas would have to say to her after seven years, but he knew curiosity would get the better of her. Therefore he wasn't surprised when she nodded and led him to what was probably Adam and Trent's bedroom, Dick closing the door behind them.

* * *

Once in the bedroom Veronica turned to face Dick, making no effort to hide her skepticism. "What's up Dick? I don't do any pixie spy magic anymore, at least not on spec."

When Dick faced her he was serious, an unusual contrast to his usual goofy demeanor. He walked to her and stood a little too close, but she didn't want to be the one to back up. He seemed reluctant to start, but for once she forced herself to be patient with him.

"Ronnie, I know we haven't seen each other in a long time and I was never your favorite person. But when Logan told me you two are doing this whole 'friends'," his fingers did that annoying air quotes motion, "thing I knew I had to get out here and see what was up for myself. And to beg you not to break his heart again."

Veronica couldn't help it. She'd never seen Dick Casasblancas being anything resembling serious. She snorted. "Did you become a life coach or a therapist Dick?"

He frowned at her. "I'm not joking, Ronnie. Every single time you trample him, I'm the one that has to put him back together. The last time was the worst. He's been in a good place the past few years and I don't want your kryptonite affecting him again."

She watched him, recognizing the earnestness behind his request. He looked a little older, but it only added to his Golden God looks. Gone was the surfer hairdo and slogan t-shirts and in its place was short, sandy blond hair and a Henley that outlined the musculature in his arms and chest surfing had honed over the years. In addition to the furrowed brow, his eyes were open and pleading with her. Surprising herself, she took pity on him.

"No one's heart is getting broken, Dick. Remember, Logan and I were friends first. And neither of us would do anything to hurt Charlie. You don't have anything to worry about."

Dick studied her for a moment, then backed up a step and crossed his arms before continuing. "Okay. I'm going to trust that you mean that because, honestly Ronnie, I don't think he can take another hit so please remember that." At her nod he went on, this time with more hesitation. "And there is something else I need to say, something I wanted to say to you a long time ago."

She attempted to shrug him off. "Dick, I don't see any reason to dredge up the past. Let's just not go there."

"Please, I've been carrying this around for a long time and I really need to get it out."

When she didn't say anything he continued. "About six years ago, Logan was in a piss-poor mood and drunk out of his mind. He was going on and on about how fucked up—his words not mine—the two of you were. And he kinda let it slip that, um, Cassidy raped you."

Veronica felt like her blood was actually boiling. Her deepest, darkest secret revealed by the one person she most trusted with it, to the one she trusted the least. "Oh, he's the deadest dead man in Deadolia," she growled, spinning to leave the room. Dick's hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm.

He started talking fast trying to get it out before she got out of his grasp. "No, wait Ronnie! Like I said it was a long time ago and he was really drunk and broken up over you. He didn't even remember it the next day. He still doesn't know."

She stopped struggling and stood still to listen. "But I'm glad he told me. He also told me that it was our fault, with the GHB. I'm the one that fed you shots and put you in that room with Cassidy and challenged him to—" he choked up, tears forming in his eyes.

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean anything but I wanted to tell you anyway. I was an asshole but please believe me, I never would have done that if I thought Beav—Cassidy would actually go through with it. And I'm glad Logan told me because it was the first time I really got it, that whole 'actions have consequences' thing. I fucked up and I am totally sorry."

Veronica found she couldn't be mad at the remorseful man before her for actions he'd taken when he was just a sixteen-year-old kid. She had long forgiven Logan and Duncan their actions that night, why not Dick too? Why not let go of that particular piece of anger she had been holding onto all these years? She looked up at Dick and placed her hands on his crossed arms.

"Forgiven. And I'm sorry too, about Cassidy. I never told you that." She stood still when he opened his arms and pulled her into a hug, and when she reluctantly hugged him back she could feel the shuddering his silent sobs caused up and down his spine. Once he had stilled she let him go and he pulled up the bottom of his shirt to wipe his cheeks dry.

The old Dick was back when he cheered, "Okay, let's get this party started! And a gay dude's bedroom is like Vegas right? No one wants to talk about the shit that goes down in here."

She laughed, realizing Dick was in for a world of surprise this evening. "I can tell you for a fact that Adam would disagree, but yeah, this conversation never happened once we leave this room. Besides, based on past history I'm sure you are going to piss me off again and I really don't want this hanging over my head when I have to taze you."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I promise I have lots more in store for our favorite duo, but, I thought they deserved a little fun and to try and get their friendship on track before I launched into the next bit of drama. Plus, a little more of their history may be revealed to those not in the know.**

**I do so very much love reviews. They keep me on track to know what you like and what works for you-and many have given helpful hints that have been put to good use so I thank you. And I'm still collecting the reasons we love Logan, so keep them coming! **

Chapter 15

Logan was watching the door when Veronica and Dick left the bedroom laughing, and came back to join the group. She ignored his questioning look to query about the the beer she had requested, and then settled down next to Charlie and leave him wondering what the hell went on in the bedroom.

Dick turned to Weevil and asked, "So, dude, I haven't seen you in like, years. Did you just get out of prison or something?"

Weevil chuckled and responded, "No, but thanks for having such high expectations for me. What about you? Missing your boy toy so badly you had to leave your surfboard to come get a fix?"

Dick smiled, missing the sarcasm in the comment. "You know it. I'm in town for some quality Logan/Dick time, or as I like to call us, Dogan. Yeah, dude, I did us like Brangelina." He held out his fist to Logan, who could only shake his head and give him a dry look, ignoring the fist as he turned to Weevil.

Weevil and he had been needling each other while Veronica was with Dick, but there was no fire between them anymore. It seemed some things did change with time. Continuing their game of catch up Logan asked, "So what brings you to the Big Apple, Weevs? Did you move here to start a new crime syndicate?"

With a chuckle Weevil answered, "No, I have changed my ways. When V left Neptune, leaving your sorry ass there if I recall, it wasn't worth getting in trouble when she wasn't around to bail me out. You know what I'm talking about."

Logan had to laugh and tipped his drink in Weevil's direction, acknowledging Veronica's ability to get her bad boys out of sticky situations. Weevil continued, "Anyway, I get to visit V about twice a year. I run a community center for troubled teens in Chicago and come in person to pick up Charlie's donation, so I get to write off the trip." His tone turned sarcastic in an obvious attempt to get under Logan's skin, "See, some rich white boys know how to use their money to do good in the world. Maybe the difference is he actually earned the money so feels a responsibility to those less fortunate."

Charlie was watching the byplay with an amused, but slightly confused expression at their antagonistic diatribe. At Weevil's comment, though, he jumped in. "Hey, don't pull me into this."

Logan smirked and turned to Dick. "I do believe the size of our…generosity is in question, Dick. It seems Weevil is trying to get us to help fund his training camp for the next generation of criminals by playing on our egos." He looked back at Weevil. "So far I'm not inspired to whip out my checkbook. Tell me more about this boot camp for the Future Felons of America."

While the pizza arrived and was divvied up, Weevil filled them in on the program and its' success rate at reforming kids on the path to becoming career criminals. He organized a tutoring program for those who were struggling in school, arranged rehab for kids who had bad habits, and set up apprenticeships with local businesses to name just a few things. Charlie chimed in with details from his visits to the center in Chicago, and the difference he had seen in some of the kids in the past two years. Every time he was on a book tour he made sure to come by the center, and had done some volunteer reviewing for a few that had an interest in writing. Veronica and Adam told about their visits during the annual career fair. Dick and Logan had to laugh when they heard how she always picked some big tough kid from the audience to demonstrate self-defense moves on. Apparently her audience never tired of seeing the pocket sized agent best one of their own.

Dick stood up at this and challenged her. "This I gotta see. Come on, Ronnie, you know you've been dying to take me down for years."

Trent waved them to an area of the living room that was less cluttered, "Over there, please. I don't want any furniture broken."

"I'm not taking anybody down. I'm eating here," Veronica proclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Charlie nudged her, "Come on, I haven't gotten to see you in action in years, since I shadowed you. Show these boys who's boss."

"Best him in less than a minute and I'll match Charlie's donation," Logan offered, deciding to up the ante.

When she still didn't get up Weevil asked, "Really, V? I would need no incentive to take on this chocha and you won't even do it for the kids?"

"He's going to give you the money anyway, why do I have to earn it?" Veronica shot back. When Weevil looked at him, Logan had to roll his eyes before nodding his head. Sometimes it sucked when someone knew you so well.

The donation secured but, obviously still wanting to see Dick bested by the tiny blond, Weevil offered, "Want me to remind you of what he wrote about you on the bathroom stall?"

Veronica's eyes widened and she looked between Weevil and Dick, on alert. "Wait, what? What did he write about me?"

Weevil pondered a moment before musing, "I don't remember the exact phrasing, something about Mars and cars. Give me a minute…got it! _Hey dude, got a buck? Call the one who likes to suck and fuck. Be it in bars or be it in cars, you can give it up to that whore, Veronica Mars._"

Dick had the grace to look a little ashamed at the reminder. "Um, what's the statute of limitations on apologies?"

Veronica stood up, wiping her greasy fingers off on a napkin. Unseen by anyone but Logan, Adam handed her something as she walked by him. Then she approached Dick slowly.

Adam took on the voice of a documentary narrator. "Watch as the vixen stalks her prey. As you witness one of nature's most primal moments, note her technique. She can't match him in size and she can't match him in strength so she will use his own size and strength against him, often utilizing her tiny stature to her own advantage. Our predator is a wily one and should not be underestimated."

Logan laughed at Adam, but watched the two facing off across the room. He was wildly curious about what she'd learned about defending herself, and couldn't imagine her getting the upper hand in a fight with someone twice her size.

Ignoring Adam's commentary and focusing on Dick, Veronica challenged him, "We're way past apologies on that one Casablancas. Ok, come at me like you're attacking me."

They faced off, Dick bouncing on his feet like a boxer while Veronica just stood there watching him flit around her. Finally, he came at her head on, and then ended up on his ass when she grabbed the front of his shirt at the last second, crouched down, and used his momentum and her feet to somersault him over her head. When he landed on his back, she grabbed his wrist and cuffed him to the radiator while her cheering section applauded and hooted.

Veronica crouched over him and patted him on the cheek in faux sympathy. "Don't take it too badly Dick, though I was never fast, I am quick. Smart, pretty and funny too, I'm even a better poet than you."

Logan watched all this with awe. Apparently her training at the academy had taught her well; she was even more of a badass now. And Charlie had been right; it was kind of hot. When she bent over a handcuffed Dick and recited her poem he couldn't help but grin. Dick was going to be hearing about this for a long time.

She went back to her seat after getting high fives from him and the three other guys, and a kiss from Charlie. Once their laughter had died down they could hear Dick whining plaintively, "Come on Ronnie, uncuff me. It was all a long time ago, and I'm sorry." When she didn't make a move, he begged "At least give me my pizza and beer."

Refusing, Veronica snapped, "No, Dick, you're in time out. And anybody tries to help him and they'll be sharing that radiator with him. I have another pair of cuffs in my bag." Her tone was joking, but there was just enough menace in it that no one rose to help, least of all him. Logan was sure it would be a very bad idea to face off against her in front of this crowd. Watching her trounce Dick was hot, having her do it to him just might cause and embarrassing reaction he didn't want made public.

"Hey, no fair! Logan did way worse stuff to you. How come I'm the one handcuffs?" Dick whined.

"Dude, shut up." Logan said, shooting him a warning look. From what he gathered Veronica hadn't exactly been detailed when telling Charlie about their past, and he didn't trust Dick to tread carefully.

"No way," Trent piped up. "I want the dirt, all of it. Spill, Dick." He paused. "Oh wait, I just realized how that sounded. You need a new name."

"I can remember a certain bashing in her headlights with a crowbar incident," Weevil offered.

At that Logan felt the need to defend himself. "Now wait, that was after she planted a bong in my locker and arranged for a surprise locker search. I got arrested."

"Which was after you had business cards made up with my number and 'If you want a slutty time call' and left them at the bus station and homeless shelter," Veronica shot back.

Weevil took the moment to fuel the fire. "You did have him arrested for murder."

Logan couldn't believe Weevil had made a joke about one of the worst times in all their lives. Never mind, nothing had changed. He is, and always was, an asshole. He was glad when she turned the tables in the next moment. "Questioned, not arrested. And who are you to throw stones? You burnt down his house."

Having the grace to look abashed at that, Weevil chuckled and offered an apology. "Right, sorry man. I guess since you didn't kill Felix I guess that was a bit unjustified."

Though Logan didn't care about the house, he did have another moment in mind when a line was crossed. "Don't sweat it. Saved me from torching that House of Horrors myself. But you did have me kidnapped, and played Russian roulette with my favorite body part." He chuckled, and figured he'd rub salt in an old wound. "But then, I did retaliate by buying your house and serving you with an eviction notice."

They all noticed the looks Adam, Trent and Charlie were giving them in the same moment. The three all had their mouths open and were just staring at the four Neptunians during their banter. Veronica caught Logan's eye and started snickering, which set him off as Weevil and Dick quickly joined in. Their laughter became hilarity, each losing whatever control they gained over it whenever they looked at each other again. As it died down to occasional chuckles, Charlie used his hand to point back and forth from Logan to Veronica. "Was the stuff between the two of you before, or after, you started dating?" he asked.

Wiping the tears from her eyes Veronica laughed and said, "Mostly before. Eh, high school, am I right?"

Adam was looking at the four of them with skepticism. "I don't know how to break this to you, but that wasn't normal. That was fucked up. You all grew up in the fifth circle of hell. Most of us just had the usual drama over acne, getting caught out after curfew and going all the way."

Trent interjected excitedly, "Oh, you know what we need to play?"

Logan sneered and warned, "If you say 'I never' you lose serious originality points." In truth he hadn't been able to play that game since he last played with Lilly, Duncan and Veronica at homecoming, and wasn't going to break that streak tonight.

Charlie spoke up, sounding eager for a game but a little lost, "What is that? I've never heard of that game."

The other six raised their drinks and took a sip. Logan told him, "There, you've played. Game over."

Trent tried again. "Please, Logan, I wasn't going to suggest that. It's been done. I was thinking of a game my mom made up. It's something we play at holidays and family reunions, or when she wants to get one of us to talk. Anyway, it's called 'Tell me about the time you'. I'll go first. Weevil, tell me about the time you…first got arrested."

Weevil laughed and said, "Ok, I'm game." He thought for a moment then launched into his story. "Let's see, I was twelve. I knew this guy that paid cash for bikes, no questions asked. The better the bike, the more money you get. So I sneak out and go up to the 09er area—that's where the rich lived in our town. I figured some spoiled brat would leave their ride outside for the taking, and I wasn't disappointed. What I didn't figure was that they would see me steal it and Sheriff Mars would pick me up 10 minutes later still riding it." They all gave a laugh and Weevil shook his head."He was such a great cop; he scared the hell out of me. It didn't have the desired effect though. I just figured I needed to get better at stealing, and I did." They all laughed and waited for him to pick the next victim. "Dick, tell me about the time your surfboard was ran over in the school parking lot."

"Dude, you know this story," Dick said, rolling his eyes.

Chuckling, Weevil responded, "Yeah I do, that's why I want to hear it again."

"Fine, but then I get uncuffed, okay? This is getting old." When Veronica just stared at him Dick sweetened the offer. "And I'll donate money to his criminal camp."

Veronica nodded her assent at that, so Dick told the requested story. "Ok see, there was this badass chick and I kinda got on her bad side. I pissed her off, so she held my brand new surfboard right under the wheel of her tire as a threat. But then I kinda pissed her off more and she ran over it. You were real good at being a bitch sometimes Ronnie."

"It's a gift. Catch." Veronica tossed Dick the keys, which he managed to pluck from the air even with his limited movement, and unlocked the cuffs holding him captive.

Dick looked over the group while rubbing his wrists. "Sweet. My turn, right? Let's see, my victim is…Trent. Tell me about the time you gave your first blowjob."

At everyone's protests Dick defended himself. "Hey, he can take a pass if he doesn't want to answer." He resumed sitting in the chair he had occupied earlier and picked up his pizza. "So, what say you Trent?"

Trent chuckled and shook his head. "I don't mind, but I'll leave out a few of the stickier details for your delicate sensibilities. Let's see. I was fifteen, he was a football player and as in the closet as your grandmother's wedding dress. We were both innocent and extremely curious, but he was under the mistaken rationale that if he only got the blowjob, rather than gave it, it didn't mean he was gay. So I gave it a go and, I think less to do with my skill than with his over excitement, it lasted all of about 40 seconds. I got a big surprise and swore, rashly as it turned out, to never repeat the experience. Apparently he never heard of the courtesy tap." Lots of laughter followed this confession while he searched for the next person to partake in his game.

Logan caught Veronica's eye in that moment and couldn't miss the small smile that graced her lips, as well as the slight blush when she quickly looked away. A memory came at him in a rush from their summer after senior year.

_They had been making out hot and heavy, and were on his bed in nothing but their underwear. By now they had made love several times and he had gone down on her once, but it was all still incredibly new and exciting. She was straddling him, pressing against his erection while kissing his chest. Up until now he had taken the lead in their lovemaking, but was enjoying that she was getting more adventurous. When she had pushed him onto his back and climbed on top, he had decided to lay back and let her hold the reigns for a while. But when she began to move down his torso in a southerly direction he thought it might be time to draw the line._

"_Um, Veronica?"_

_She looked up from kissing his stomach, her brow furrowed at the interruption. "Yeah?"_

"_What are you doing?"_

_She smiled at that, her look jaunty. "A big boy like you should be able to figure that out."_

"_Yeah, I'm a few steps ahead of you. But, it's okay, I don't need you to. I just want you." He was lying through his teeth. He could think of nothing more erotic than her going down on him but it had been obvious that, despite her relationship with Duncan, a lot of this was still new to her. He figured she would need more time before they tried another flavor in bed besides vanilla._

_But her look was sardonic as she raised an eyebrow and asked, "And if I want to?"_

_Logan heard the challenge in her question and figured that of all the fights they would have, his turning down a blowjob from her would probably be the stupidest. He gave her a lascivious grin before answering, "Then you don't have to ask me twice." He threw his hands back, turned his head to the side and affected the voice of a put-upon woman. "Do as you will."_

_Veronica laughed and, when he felt her lips return to his stomach, just above the waistband of his boxers, his dick twitched at the proximity to her mouth. Lifting his hips to aid when she pulled down his shorts, he looked at her when nothing followed. She was kneeling between his legs studying his cock like it was a problem to be solved. At his look she gave an embarrassed smile and admitted, "You know, I'm actually not sure how to go about this."_

_Logan couldn't help the grin that crossed his face, and decided they could both use a little levity. "You know how to whistle don't you? Just—" he stopped when she laughed and hit him with a pillow that was lying beside him._

"_I'm actually serious. I…could you maybe tell me? I really want to do this."_

_Jesus. He didn't think her inexperience could turn him on so much, but it did. And it made him want her to follow through even more. "Hmmm. Yeah, but I didn't realize we were doing fantasy play yet. And playing teacher and student is definitely at the top of that list."_

_Rather than laugh at his joke, Veronica just waited for him to quit amusing himself. "Ok, Miss Mars. I'll walk you through it, but first a warning. There is always a free gift with purchase. At that point I may not be capable of coherent speech so if I say 'now' or give you a courtesy tap on your shoulder, take your mouth off me and replace it with your hands, okay?"_

_She nodded and settled herself down to business, but he didn't miss the look of excitement that passed across her face. If she was going to be so damn innocent and eager, he knew this would be a short lesson, so he figured he better get down to it. Pun intended. He propped himself up on his elbows so he could better see what she was doing._

"_Ok, first, make a circle of your thumb and forefinger, and use it to hold me at the base. Yeah, like that. A little later you'll use both hands but for now start with one." At her nod he continued. "Now, start slow, with just your tongue. Circle around the head a few times. Umm…with your whole tongue, not just the tip. Then go up and down the sides. The goal is to get me wet enough to make the next step easier." As she followed his instructions he knew it was going to take every bit of concentration he had to talk her through this._

"_Most important rule here, make sure and cover your teeth with your lips. Then take just the head in your mouth. You know what the frenulum is?" At her nod he continued. "Use your tongue to lick that. Mmm, more like an ice cream c—(groan) yeah, like that." _

_She played around with this for a moment, seemingly getting used to having him in her mouth. He found her studious, serious approach to the act incredibly hot, and he had to remind himself of his part of this mission. "Ok, if you're ready, keep your teeth covered and move your mouth down, but only go so far as you feel comfortable. Gagging, not so sexy. For now go slow, but for future reference, you don't need to bother. It's really hot when you just take it all in your mouth at once at the beginning." He waited while she experimented, trying to think unsexy thoughts to let himself hang in there as long as possible. After a moment he couldn't help but chuckle. "Breathe through your nose Bobcat. Wow, ok, that's…fuck that's good. Ready for the next step?"_

_His head was almost at the back of her throat and her lips were touching her fingers at the base of his cock when she murmured "Mmmm hmmm," causing the vibrations in her throat to reverberate down his shaft. He couldn't hold back the groan that escaped him._

"_Damn_. _Ok, next you want to slowly lift your head completely off of me, keeping your mouth tight around me the whole time. Once your lips touch the tip go back down again kinda slow, and repeat that for a while. Yeah, like that. Remember to keep your lips tight, your mouth tight the whole time. And it helps if you keep your lips and everything wet." He shut up and just took in the sight and sensation of her actions. She was still tentative, but getting more confident. After a couple of minutes, he has was getting seriously blissed out when she suddenly stopped and looked up at him._

"_You said I would be using both hands?" she asked._

_He took a moment to make sense of her words. "Right. Um, take your left hand and make an L, and use it to anchor me at the base again. Your right thumb and forefinger make a ring and precede your mouth as you go down, then follow it as you go up. Sometime, not today because I'm not gonna last that long, I'll show you how to use that hand to alternate with your mouth and really make me crazy."_

_She nodded and followed his instructions to the letter. He fell back on the bed, giving over to the sensations she was causing in him. He was right, he didn't last too long because he found teaching her so fucking erotic. After just a couple of minutes he was groaning, feeling his balls tighten as he got closer to orgasm. Like with everything else, she had caught on fast. He panted out, "Now," while simultaneously tapping her on the shoulder. He groaned when he felt her mouth leave him, but was glad for his earlier instruction to continue with her hand. Another moment under her attentions and he exploded, feeling the warm wetness of his cum land on his torso. When he caught his breath he threw an arm over his eyes and laughed, relieved to hear her laugh as well. "Miss Mars, you move to the head of the class."_

The memory shot through his brain and straight to his groin in only a second. He shifted a bit to make himself more comfortable, pointedly looking anywhere but at Veronica. He forced himself to focus on what Trent was saying.

"Charlie, tell me about a time when you got something over on Veronica." Trent settled back, looking pleased with himself.

Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Are you sure this game isn't called True Confessions?"

At Veronica's curious look Charlie offered, "I'll only tell if I get immunity." She nodded warily and he continued. "Well, do you remember when you were begging me to go to that Quentin Tarritin film festival—

"Quentin Tarantino." Logan corrected.

"Right, okay, Tarantino film festival last year and I said I would go?" Veronica nodded. "Well, at the last minute I told you the deadline had been moved up on my book, and I had to spend the whole day with Judith going over the galley's so I had to bail on you." Charlie grinned reluctantly. "It was a lie. I spent the day catching an off Broadway play and book shopping at The Strand." He was trying to act sheepish, but actually looked so damn proud they all couldn't help but laugh at him, Veronica included. Though she did at least hit him with a pillow.

"You were just looking for a chance to brag about that, weren't you?" Adam asked him, giving him a high five before offering to grab more beers for everyone. "Before I go to the kitchen am I the next victim?"

"No, I think that would be Logan." Sounds of uh oh, and ooo flew around the group, followed by low laughter as they waited for Charlie's question.

"Tell me about the time you…had sex with someone you shouldn't have."Charlie ordered, grinning.

Logan had made a few jokes about his clandestine ways when he was younger, but didn't think Charlie realized the landmine he had just pulled Logan onto. His mind was still having trouble focusing entirely on the game and, with Veronica and Dick in the same room, only one sexual misstep came to mind. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Reminding both Veronica and himself of a difficult time in their past should help nullify the earlier shared memory.

With a look at Dick, then a quick, furtive, glance at Veronica he said, "Well, there was that time I got really drunk and broke the bro code. I slept with Dick's ex, who also happened to be the mortal enemy of someone I was trying to get over. Among the top five worst mistakes of my life. Neither a fun nor a good memory, but thanks for asking."

Dick rolled his eyes. "Dude, you totally should have brought up nailing my step mom. Way better story." At the exclamations of the other men in the room he couldn't resist embellishing. "She was hot, used to be a Laker girl. She was a real bitch to us, especially Logan. And the whole time he was nailing her. I'm still jealous over that one."

"Jesus, Echolls, does anybody say no to you?" Weevil asked in wonder. "I think next time I visit my grandma I'm going to go by the high school and write SLUT on your old locker in homage."

"Make sure and spell check it first, Weevs. I have a rep to protect." Logan warned. He figured his next victim needed to bring the humor back to the party. Adam had just walked back into the room and in the line of fire, so, what the hell. "Adam…tell me about the time you had to do something ridiculous when you were undercover."

"Please, let me pick it. Please, please please!" Veronica begged, getting off the floor and onto her knees to face Adam so she could tilt her head and bat her eyelashes at him.

Adam demured. "No, that story goes to the grave, Rover, as we discussed. And quit your feminine wiles, you know I'm impervious."

Adam sat in thought for a moment, then smirked at Veronica. "Let's see, there was that time we were investigating a serial rapist. He met his victims at AA meetings so I had to spend three months attending said meetings until I could figure out who he was. Week after week of getting up in front of groups and talking ad nauseum about what a drunk I am. And _this one_," he tilted his head toward Veronica, "made me a bet that I couldn't cry at every speech. Every. Fucking. Meeting I got up there and shed tears, blotting my eyes with the 'Cry, bitch' handkerchief she'd embroidered clutched in my hand. She lost."

"Sweet! What did she lose?" Dick asked.

"That is a debt to be paid later at my discretion. And it's going to be good. My turn. Ver-on-i-ca," Adam said slowly, drawing out each syllable. "Tell me about the time you first had sex. And I mean details."

Logan heard Dick's quick intake of breath across the coffee table, and wondered at it. He felt a jolt of panic go through himself, wondering about her possible response. She obviously hadn't told Adam about the rape, or he never would have asked that question. Based on Charlie's curious look he realized she had never told him. Logan couldn't help but wonder why she would keep such big secrets from him, and what it said about their relationship. When he heard Veronica answer the question, he was relieved. And he figured it was as good an answer as any. Your first time should be counted as the one you remember.

Veronica was succinct in her answer. "Senior year. I was 18 and had gotten back together with my first boyfriend, Duncan. We had been back together for a while and I had one of those life is short moments, so I went to him at the hotel where he was living and...there you go."

Adam rolled his eyes at her. "I already knew the Duncan part. I want details, and if that's details, that is the most boring first time ever. Try again"

She sighed, then expanded on her answer. "Okay, it was sweet and romantic. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the bed. He kissed me while slowly undressing both of us and then put on a condom and…we did it. The best part was the cuddling after." She intentionally didn't look his way, but Logan saw her bite her lip to hold back a smile when she heard him snort.

Their talk continued for the next couple of hours through revelations both hilarious and bittersweet. After a while they let go of the game format and told stories about their lives, both past and present.

"So you've never been in love. Ever? How is that possible?" Trent asked Dick incredulously. "You're twenty-six years old. No one is that jaded at twenty-six."

"No dude. You misunderstood. I've never been permanently in love. I fall in love constantly." But I have no romantic falsehoods about happily ever after." Dick shook his head and took a long draw on his umpteenth beer before continuing. "If you'd watched my parents' marriages you'd totally get it. Then I spent almost two years watching the Love roller coaster. It was enough to make anybody puke."

"The Love Roller Coaster? What is that, a television show?" Charlie asked. He sat on the floor resting against the couch while Veronica lay on the floor with her head in his lap. Everyone was awake but mellow, enjoying the camaraderie of the evening.

"No, it's these two." Dick used his beer bottle to point to Logan and Veronica. "Put the first two letters of their names together and you get LoVe."

As Logan imaged Veronica and his relationship being interpreted by Dick, he realized it was time to shut this line of conversation down. "Clever, but I don't think need anyone needs a recap Dick. We broke up, it obviously didn't have a happy ending, story over," he asserted.

Charlie fixed him with a look that told him he doth protest too much. With an edge in his voice he insisted, "It was a long time ago and we're all grownups here. I think we can handle it." His tone was probably the only reason Veronica didn't speak up as well. Charlie turned back to Dick. "What do you mean roller coaster?"

Unfortunately Dick operated with almost no filter when he was sober. When he was even somewhat drunk, like now, that filter completely shut down. He scoffed at Logan, "Don't get your panties in a wedgie. I'm just saying that I've never been in love long term because it's all drama and fighting. And if I did she would have to be stupid, not smart like Ronnie. Logan never got away with anything. She'd figure it out, nail him, they'd get in a big fight, and then he'd nail her. The drama was great foreplay, but too much work if you ask me."

"Dick!" Logan and Veronica yelled simultaneously.

Dick pursed his lips, and tried to figure out why they were yelling at him. Logan felt he had to do something to try and mitigate the potential damage his idiot friend had just wrought. He forced a light tone into his voice and countered, "But that's just Dick's take. You've heard of beer goggles? Well, behold the wearer of Dick goggles, where everything seems to have something to do with sex."

Weevil winced and said, "Dick goggles? Thanks for putting that mental image in my head, Echolls."

Wanting to end the evening on a lighter note Logan decided to throw in a last round of their earlier game to get everyone back to laughing. "Dick, tell me about the time you let a girl talk you into getting a tattoo."

Trent perked up at that, and Adam begged, "Please tell me it's a tramp stamp."

Dick started laughing and said, "Better."

Ever the ham, he jumped up and started a slow strip tease as he told his story. "I was banging this one chick who was a huge Looney Tunes fan. She got hot when I did a Daffy Duck voice. So, one night she got me really, really drunk and I woke up the next morning with my ass hurting like hell." Having his pants unfastened he executed a 180 degree turn and started to shimmy his ass while dropping trou.

Dick continued, "So I stumble over to the mirror, drop my drawers and find this." He pulled down his pants to reveal that his entire left cheek was decorated with Elmer Fudd aiming a shotgun into his exit hole.

After the catcalls, yelling and laughter calmed down, Logan made their goodbyes and pulled Dick toward the door. Once they were safely alone in the hallway he hit Dick up the side of his head and said, "Asshole."

"What did I do?" Dick asked, completely clueless.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So...i****t was fun to bring a couple more canon characters back into the mix for a night and take a little trip down Neptune lane. I think SilverLining2k6 said it best, "Dick…facepalm." _THAT_ made me laugh out loud.  
**

** As always, I own nothing, even my head. That belongs to the Marsverse until I exhaust this obsession.  
**

Chapter 16

"And that's game, congrats." Charlie said, as he dropped his racquet and collapsed on the cool wood of the racquetball court. He lay flat on his back, arms and legs spread out as if to make a snow angel, sans snow. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.

Feeling as tired as Charlie looked, Logan backed up to the nearest wall and bent over, putting his hands on his knees and letting the sweat dripping from his forehead fall to the floor. He felt more relaxed than he had in three days, since that dinner party at Adam and Trent's. It may have been unfair to take his tension out on Charlie during their game, but oh the fuck well. The guy gave as good as he got.

When they had both started breathing normally again, they headed to the locker room to take a sauna and a shower, as had become their ritual. Logan's luxury apartment building came with a fully equipped health club in the basement and he took advantage of every amenity to keep himself in shape, including racquetball games with Charlie once or twice a week. Dick had talked him into an Australian surf trip in a few months and he didn't want to go soft.

They had the sauna to themselves, the room dark and steamy. The combination of the workout and heat of the room made him feel wilted, and he leaned back to rest his head against the wall. Once they had settled in Charlie asked, "So how was your date Saturday night?"

"Short," Logan snorted. "She was hot but that was the sum total of her attributes. So I told her I had to check into my halfway house by ten."

Charlie laughed, "Wow, why did you even ask her out?"

Logan shook his head. "I didn't. She picked me up when I was buying coffee. Five minutes into the date she just made it clear she wanted to go back to my place. I figured I could either spend the night banging some chick I couldn't care less about, or hole up at home and read something fun for a change."

The skepticism was apparent in Charlie's voice. "And you chose reading? I mean, _I _get it, but from things you've said I'm kind of surprised."

"Because I'm a man whore?" Logan couldn't help but be amused. Charlie wouldn't be the first to make that accusation. "Once upon a time, maybe, but not for a long time now. Let's just say I got tired of having Twinkies for dinner every night, and realized I'd rather hold out for steak. And that girl was definitely a Twinkie. I was better off spending my weekend with the works of Matthew Dicks."

Charlie grinned, "Good choice, one of my favorites. Does that mean Dick went back to California?" he asked.

"No, Boston for a couple of weeks on business. He doesn't keep regular hours at his real estate business, and has an open invitation so…" He opened his hands and turned them to indicate Dick's term in New York was up in the air. "What about Veronica? She keeping dinner warm for you tonight?"

Charlie sighed. "No, this case has her a little buried. She'll be late tonight, but said she should be home by six the rest of the week. We're trying to spend as much time together as possible since I leave in a couple weeks to visit my parents in Africa. They retired there a few years ago, and I've only been to visit once."

"Is it the same case Marjorie mentioned, that party invitation thing?" Lying to Charlie made Logan feel like crap, but he was dying to know what had happened.

"Yeah. She doesn't talk much about cases she is currently working, but she said they're making progress." Relief laced Charlie's voice when he added, "Thankfully it is still a DEFCON 5 because they are still in the research and recon stage, but it still means some long days."

Logan well remembered how obsessed she would get working a case. He commiserated with Charlie, "Love the woman, love the job, right? In her case it really isn't possible to separate the two."

After a long moment Charlie asked, "Was that a problem when the two of you were together? I mean, I know she wasn't an agent yet, but I've gathered she was heavier into the PI stuff than I had realized. Is that what made you two break up?"

Logan hesitated before answering. There were so many things that broke them up so many times, and he really didn't think he owed Charlie a laundry list. Rather than answer the question, he said, "I wondered when we would get around to talking about that. I think we established Friday night that Veronica and I didn't have the highest functioning relationship. Her tendency to go after murderers and rapists was only one of our many problems. We're better just as friends."

Through the steam he could hear Charlie chuckle. "If what you guys described as friendship on Friday night was better than your dating experience, that must have been apocalyptic."

Hearing the question in Charlie's joke, and having come to like him enough to spare him having to come right out and ask, Logan said. "Don't read much into what Dick says, Charlie. He isn't the deepest thinker on the planet. We did fight a lot; we both have a temper and had other issues. We cared about each other but it just wasn't the most functional relationship."

"I can't picture that, Logan. You seem pretty laid back. And Veronica and I never fight; I wouldn't describe her as having a temper at all." Charlie disputed.

Logan was suddenly grateful for the poorly lit, steam filled room. He was sure that if he could see it, Charlie would be able to read his face pretty clearly. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud. If Charlie hadn't seen Veronica fly off the handle he was only getting half the woman, and didn't even realize it. Poor bastard.

Charlie continued, "We have disagreements occasionally, but we talk and work them out. Who you're describing—I don't think she's that person anymore."

Logan thought about when she stomped on his foot at the swing club, how she yelled at him when she broke into his apartment, and how she squared off in the kitchen when she wouldn't let him leave until he heard her out. It was probably better to leave Charlie with his illusions. He conceded, "Maybe not. I'd like to think we've both done some growing up in the past seven years. Plus, back then she had a tendency to put herself in danger that pissed me off to no end. At least now she's trained, armed, and has a Norse God for a partner."

So quiet Logan almost didn't hear him, Charlie said, "It didn't keep her from getting her throat cut. Or getting shot."

Logan's stomach flipped and he felt the bile rise in the back of his throat. Forcing calm into his voice he absolutely didn't feel he said. "Well, that's news. What happened?"

Charlie explained, "The throat thing was about two and a half years ago. Guy she was busting got the better of her and started to cut her throat. Adam shot him in the head before he could finish the job."

Trying his damnedest not to put a mental image with that description, Logan asked, "And she was shot?"

Exhaling heavily, Charlie elaborated, "A year ago she was chasing a perp when he turned and fired. She took it in the stomach, and fell but managed to shoot him while he was taking aim for a second shot. That's not counting the bruises, scrapes and various other injuries she's come home with. Nothing gets in the way of the job." His voice sounded weary and resigned.

Logan thought his head was going to explode with this new information. For the life of him he couldn't imagine how Charlie sounded so calm about all this. Or how he let her keep putting herself out there after all that happened. But then he had to laugh at himself. Despite his best efforts he had never been able to get her to hold back either. The only person she had halfway listed to was_—_"What does her dad say about all that?" he quickly asked.

Charlie's cynical laugh was explanation enough, but he said, "Are you kidding? Well, to be fair he only knows about the gunshot. But I thought he was going to lose his mind when he showed up and saw her in that hospital bed. He insisted she quit or take a less dangerous position, but you see who won that fight."

"It's Veronica's world. We all just live in it." Logan said dryly.

Charlie's chuckle reached him through the steam. "Yeah, and you are back in her orbit."

His tone grew serious, "Logan, I know we talked about this after Judith's party, but I didn't realize the extent of your history together at the time. I don't even know what I'm asking, exactly, it's just… when you are around I see a side of her I never knew before."

"What do you mean?" Logan inquired.

"I mean, sharper, edgier, more…fierce. Like you keep her on her toes, and she likes it. Plus you guys have so much history that sometimes it's like you are speaking your own language." Charlie said, confusion evident in his voice.

With surprise, Logan realized Charlie was a lot more observant than he had given him credit for. Shit. With the wrong words he could lose two friends for the price of one, so cautioned himself to tread carefully before he spoke. "A lot of that is just movie quotes and song lyrics, Charlie. You just miss the references because you were raised in the real world."

Charlie grunted, then explained, "I have this good friend, Annabelle, that moved to Montana a couple of years ago. We dated for over a year, and ended things as friends. That was what I was expecting when you and Veronica worked things out. But, after spending time together with the both of you, it's obvious your connection is much deeper than I would have ever anticipated. I don't really know what to make of it."

A wry smile formed across Logan's face, unseen by Charlie. "There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."

Charlie's laughter carried around the enclosed room, sounding muffled in the cloying air. "Finally a reference I get. I was seriously starting to wonder if you ever read a book," he joked, then sighed. "But I get it, a least a little. She's not someone you dated for a while before you mutually agreed to go your separate ways like me and Annabelle. But I guess that's my point of comparison. Annabelle and I are friends, but you and Veronica are much more than that. The question is, what?"

Logan got up and headed toward the door. He couldn't shake the thought of Veronica being shot, cut or beaten up. That, combined with Charlie's question mixed to make him feel nauseated. Logan told Charlie, "I think I'm ready for that shower now. The steam is starting to make me a little light headed."

Charlie got up and followed him out the door toward the locker room, giving him a moment to compose his answer. Logan did his best to explain. "We go back a long way, Charlie, Veronica and me. We were friends for four years before Lilly was murdered. Then we shared the grief of losing her, and Veronica was the only one there for me when my mom killed herself. And after that, finding out my father murdered Lilly, then tried to kill Veronica and her dad..."

Charlie stopped walking, and when Logan looked he saw the incredulous look that had formed on his face, he let out a bit of a laugh. "Still haven't done any googling? It's compelling stuff. Anyway, there was a lot of other stuff that went down after that. So, I guess that's the best answer I can give you. Friendship doesn't begin to define what we have. For lack of a better way to describe it, she's family."

Charlie was quiet, a small smile forming across his face as Logan finished talking. "That's good to hear, man, because she said the same thing about you."

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Veronica found herself thankful for Adam's sage advice. Having a lighter work schedule allowed her a more active social life, and a lot of it was spent with Logan. He and Charlie had become almost inseparable so, as often as not, she came home from work to find them waiting with dinner and a plan for the night. They played Rockband, went to a couple of clubs to hear music, and even spent a hilarious evening playing _Cards Against Humanity_ with Adam and Trent. The more time they spent together, the easier it became to be around him. They had steered away from any serious conversations and had found a rhythm to their three way friendship.

That is, until the night the three of them were hanging out and talking after making Charlie watch _Sixteen Candles._ Charlie had grudgingly given in to their united request to stay in and watch the film, and then had laughed maniacally through the whole thing. They were indulging him describing some of his favorite scenes and laughing along with him.

"No more yanky my wanky. The Donger needs food," Charlie chortled, holding his stomach from all the laughter. "God, that was a funny movie. I never went to high school; my parents home schooled me. Jesus, was it like that for everybody?" he asked, still shaking with laughter.

Logan cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. "I think we've established we didn't have the typical high school experience. But the party scene was very familiar, and there was definitely that kind of social hierarchy."

Charlie halfway sobered, looked at the both of them in turn and asked, "Well, where were you guys in that hierarchy?"

Veronica caught Logan's eye and, when he nodded at her, understood he was leaving it to her to explain. "Logan, Duncan and Lilly were part of the '09ers, the richest families in Neptune and the top of the social pyramid. The rest of us lesser beings fell somewhere underneath. I was kind of an honorary '09er, but that all changed after Lilly was killed; I was pretty much on the fringes after that."

Charlie frowned, she thought, from remembering what she had told him about losing all her friends at once. But then he asked a question she was completely unprepared for. "Neither of you ever talk about Duncan. Whatever happened to him?"

She was grateful when Logan gave the answer, though it was more succinct than she would have preferred. "He dumped Veronica, kidnapped the baby he had had with another girl who had died, and fled the country. Nobody has heard from him since." He snorted, "I'm actually surprised he pulled it off. No one could figure out how he did it."

Unfortunately, Veronica was sitting next to Charlie when Logan explained Duncan's disappearance, because he obviously saw something in her expression. Before Charlie could respond to this latest bombshell, Logan fixed her with a look and asked a volume of questions with just her name. "Veronica...?"

Only her dad and Logan could read her face so clearly. She tried pleading with her eyes for him to drop it, but, of course, he didn't. When she didn't immediately answer, his question became an exclamation. "Veronica!"

She'd never told him about her part in Duncan's escape, no matter how badly she had always wanted to. She was already an accessory to kidnapping and didn't relish the idea of putting him in the same position, much less Charlie. She hoped he would hear the unspoken plea behind her irritated facade. "Why is it every crime that wasn't committed by you or Weevil, everyone tries to pin on me? The feds questioned me at the time, and they cleared me so whatever you're thinking, stop it. Duncan is still a fugitive and if either of us have any information about his disappearance or his whereabouts we are obligated to report it." The fact that she didn't actually lie was hollow comfort._  
_

Charlie interrupted by asking, "Wait, are you asking Veronica if she had something to do with a kidnapping? You have to be kidding, Logan. There's no way she did something like that."

Logan continued to look at her for a moment, enough that she could tell he had figured a few things out for himself. His eyes moved to look at Charlie and he visibly relaxed, laughing in a self-deprecating way before he spoke. "You're right, Charlie. It was just a crazy thought; I don't know why I went there for even a second."

Veronica realized that, being the son of two actors, Logan had picked up a trick or two. His performance was so convincing _she_ was almost fooled. But as long as they stopped discussing it in front of Charlie, she could handle this knowledge now being in his hands. She found herself relieved when he changed the subject.

Logan spurted, "So, _Ferris Buellers Day Off_ and _Sixteen Candles_ were a hit. Ronnie, I think we have a John Hughes fan in our midst. So what goes on the list for the next movie night? _Breakfast Club_? _Uncle Buck_…"

At the end of the evening, when Logan was getting ready to leave, Veronica turned to Charlie and oh-so-casually asked, "Hey, did you check the mail today? I didn't see it on the table when I came in and I'm waiting for flash drive of music from Mac."

At his shake of the head, Veronica turned to Logan and said, "I'll walk down with you. That box is so small if we skip a day it can get too full."

She got up and grabbed her keys, and then preceded Logan out to the hall while he held the door open for her. They walked in silence toward the elevator, not speaking until they'd gotten in the car. Veronica waited him out, figuring if Logan wasn't going to ask she wouldn't volunteer the information. But, of course, he asked.

"So, you masterminded the whole thing?" Logan probed. She shrugged, and then nodded. He continued questioning her. "That actually makes a lot more sense. Exactly how did you pull that off?"

Veronica demured, "I can't give you a lot of details but it did involve a payout to someone to sneak the baby out while Duncan made his way over the border on his own." Thought she hated involving Logan, even eight years later, an immense wave of relief washed over her to finally be able to tell him. To share what had happened to their friend.

Logan eyes widened, incredulous. "Veronica, they had border patrol backed up for days searching every car for him. How did he manage to get through?"

She gave him a small smile, but relished the malicious satisfaction she felt getting to say it out loud. "They don't search the trunks of police cars."

He looked confused for a moment, but when he got it he started laughing. "Lamb. Oh my god, you set up Lamb to sneak him over. Holy crap, Veronica, that was genius." He was still laughing, and she couldn't help but join in. Logan had been no more a fan of Don Lamb than she had been.

Logan sobered as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby together. They had the room to themselves since the doorman wasn't manning his desk at the moment, and all the other residents were elsewhere. Standing in front of her, he hooked his thumbs in his back pockets and studied her face. "So your breakup with Duncan was a fake?" Again, she nodded, and he asked, "Veronica, are you…do you keep in touch with Duncan?"

The pained look on his face put a vice grip on her heart. She wasn't sure which answer he would prefer; that she had kept Duncan to herself all these years, or that they had both lost touch with their friend. Veronica decided that regardless of which answer would hurt the worst, he deserved the truth_. _

She admitted, "No, Logan. There was no safe way to make that happen. We talked about all the possible ways to do it, but everything leaves a trace for someone who knows where to look. He wouldn't risk the baby's safety, even for me."

Logan looked at her then, surprise and confusion in his face. She realized she hadn't explained. "Meg's parents were abusive. Before she died, Meg was gathering evidence to take to Child Protective Services. The Mannings had a good chance of getting custody of the baby." At his understanding nod, she felt relieved to finally have been able to tell him. She figured it was a good note to end the evening on.

Veronica smiled and said, "Well, I better get the mail and head back up. I'm sure Charlie is going to have a load of questions about Duncan. It was a pretty long conversation after you told him about what happened, um, the night I found the tapes of your dad and Lilly," she admitted with a smile and a roll of the eyes.

Unfortunately he didn't return her humor. Logan's brow furrowed "Veronica, why doesn't Charlie know about all of this already? Why didn't he know about me? Or about…Cassidy?" he asked.

Logan had voiced the questions her mind had been plagued with the past few weeks. Once Logan came back into her life, so much about her past had come to light. Unfortunately, Charlie wasn't taking it as well as he pretended in front of other people. He had seemed to roll with the reveals at Adam and Trent's dinner party, but she had had to do a lot of explaining once they were alone. And again when Logan had told him about Aaron trying to kill her and her dad all those years ago. Since then, things had been just a little tense between them, and she was sure tonight wouldn't be an improvement. Every time they seemed to smooth things over that baggage full of grenades came out again with a fresh explosion.

However, Veronica tried to answer as best she could. "Did I tell you I saw a therapist when I was in college?" Logan shook his head, still studying her intently.

"I did, for almost two years. And I told her everything. Everything that had happened starting with my mom's alcoholism all the way through leaving Neptune, and you, for good. I think she wrote a paper on me." Veronica smirked at him, acknowledging that there was a lot to write about.

Logan returned the smile and gave a little chuff of a laugh. "I bet. If she published it, I'd love to read it sometime. I bet your id came across as a scrappy little bugger."

Veronica laughed, too. "You know it. Anyway, she really helped me. Helped me take responsibility for things I've done and absolve myself for things I had no control over. I promised myself going in I would face everything head on, no more running away. And I stuck with it, sat myself in that little room with her and dealt with things no matter how much I wanted to bolt. And then she gave me a gift."

"Ginsu knives?" he quipped.

She snorted. "She told me I had the power over my experiences. They were mine and I could do with them whatever I wanted. I was under no obligation to tell anybody about them, but they were mine to share when and how I liked. It's why Adam said he knew my first time was with Duncan, because I told him that. Because I decided that was what happened."

His brow furrowed and he asked, "But does that mean you just pretend that night at Shelly's didn't happen?"

Veronica shook her head. "I acknowledge the rape, but I'm choosing not to count it as my first time, it's something separate. I've felt a lot of power in that choice." Her fallback sarcasm crept into her voice. "Of course, now I'm questioning the wisdom in holding back so much from Charlie. But who saw _you_ coming back into my life?" She couldn't help but grin at him, glad for the turn of events that had brought him there.

"He wouldn't be the first boyfriend of yours whose life was turned upside down by my presence. But at least I get points for consistency." Logan joked back, but she worried about what was to follow when he dropped the smile and got serious again. "Veronica, I get what you're saying but…"

"But what?" Her curiosity piqued, she waited for his answer.

It was a moment in coming, but still took her entirely by surprise. "But, I know better than anybody what you've been through, and how it changed you. And I'm in awe. You can tell him anything." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, then headed across the lobby and out the front door.

**A/N: I'm feeling a lot of Logan love out there. From Jenilyn -the way he always found a way to touch Veronica. Be it her hair, her face or a sweet kiss of her hand or fingers. Swoon! And also his little hello/goodbye waves. The flickers of his fingers, so cute. From Scandalpants (yes I get to play too!) calling her Bobcat, even if it was just a one time joke, the nickname has stuck and I love it. LoVerIsaFighter the time he got Weevil reinstated back in school after the prank they played on Mr. Daniels (he does have a definite sense of justice).**

**I got a PM from Ghostcat 3000 with quite the effusive list: He is some kind of tiger in the sack (the writer's were clearly doing fan fiction service here with all the hints and outright statements), clearly never pressured Veronica into having sex with him, he is incredibly loving, overly loving when confronted with genuine warmth and affection. He is the guy who kicks ass for Veronica no matter what the outcome for himself. He is fast reacting, both physically and mentally, quick-witted AND spry. Those ridiculous fluttery hands, those long fingers, those eyes, that stare. The fact that he can look like an ordinary guy and then turn on a dime, and he loves a challenge. That muscular but lean build, the smarts, his admiration for Veronica's smarts. Summed up…He's smokin'.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you for the kind PMs and reviews, and welcome to the new Followers of this story. JeniLyn2000 I am with you on the smoldering looks. You know that is getting worked in here soon...  
**

**A/N: I own nothing...**

Chapter 17

After his night with Veronica and Charlie, Logan had gone home and crashed, sleeping heavily through the next seven hours. He had come to despise his alarm clock, but even worse was having his phone wake him before he needed to be up. With Dick's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the time difference between East and West coasts, he had been roused irritatingly early on more than one occasion. Today, his sleep was interrupted by ding of a text message, rather than a phone call.

Frowning, he read the message from an unknown number. _Thursday night, Birdbrain, 8pm. _

Logan texted back, _Stop calling me Birdbrain, _and fell back in bed to close his eyes and wait for a more enlightening missive. Instead, his phone rang with a call from an unknown number, and he answered to hear Adam laughing on the other end of the line.

"Sorry, I forgot my number wasn't programmed into your phone. So I guess I'm the birdbrain. Let me try again. We are going out Thursday night for Charlie's birthday, starting at Birdbrain at eight. Are you free? A date is optional, but Dick is mandatory," Adam ordered.

"What good would one be without the other?" Logan inquired, still trying to wake up.

"Hmmm…valid point, but I meant your friend Dick. He's kind of hilarious; Trent and I want to see him again. So, what do you say?" Adam asked.

A night out in New York could mean anything, so Logan questioned the plan. "What's on the agenda for the evening? And what's the dress?"

"We are all dressing up. Doing Manhattan in style like the young professionals we pretend to be. First, drinks at a jazz club, then dinner, followed by dancing at a joint that plays more than just a bass line. I've seen your moves, you can handle it." Adam drawled.

Logan gave a low chuckle. "Me I'm not worried about, but from what Ronnie says Charlie can't dance. It doesn't seem like an evening designed for the birthday boy's enjoyment."

Adam started laughing. "Obviously you've never gone dancing with Charlie. One of the best things about him is how self-conscious he _isn't_. Remember the dance scene from A Night at the Roxbury? You might want to make sure your phone has video capabilities."

His interest piqued, Logan hung up. He picked up his phone again to call Dick and let him know the plan. It wasn't quite seven-thirty, and Dick was in Boston-in his same time zone, but fair was fair. When he heard Dick answer he asked, "Dude, are you going to be back in town Thursday night? A grown up night is planned for Charlie's birthday and either you were specifically invited to join, or I'm getting lucky with Adam or Trent, or both. I wasn't clear on the specifics."

Unfortunately, Dick sounded wide awake so his petty plan didn't work. "That's not even funny. You're like the only guy left in that city that isn't metro or homo, not that there's anything wrong with that."

Logan rolled his eyes. Politically correct, Dick wasn't. But he joked, "Give it time; I've only been here a few months. So are you in? We are all suiting up, dinner and dancing. You can bring a date."

Dick's usual enthusiasm came over the phone loud and clear. "Hell yeah, I'm in. And we're both bringing dates. You've been sexless too long, it's not natural. I'll be back Thursday morning, I'll set it up then."

"You are going to find me a date Thursday morning for Thursday night? Do they charge by the hour or did you get a Groupon for a package deal?" Logan queried, his tone revealing his skepticism.

"Dude, just abide. I got it covered." Dick hung up without any sign of goodbye, as usual.

Logan sighed, the prospect of an evening out with The World's Happiest Couples while hanging a Dick tramp off his arm wasn't pleasant; he hadn't stooped that low in years. But, having no other prospects to hand, he just resigned himself to his fate and imagined the verbal trouncing Veronica would deal any bimbo Dick set him up with . Atthe very least the evening would be entertaining...

* * *

At seven o'clock Thursday night, Dick emerged from the guest bedroom dressed in a sleek gray suit, electric blue shirt and Andy Warhol tie, looking nothing like the California beach bum he was at heart. Seeing him, Logan cocked an eyebrow and had to ask, "When did you learn to tie a tie?"

"Didn't." Dick answered. "Had the sales guy just pre-tie it for me. But you once said, it's the end result we're all judged by, right?" Dick held out a couple of small silver bobs. "But these are kinda confusing. How the hell do you do them one handed?"

Logan took the cuff links from him, and went to work at Dick's wrists when he held them out. "Actually, I may have said it to you, but it's a quote by Sherrilyn Kenyon. So, do I get any kind of a heads up on our dates or are they just your standard issue tramps?"

Dick scoffed, offended. "I was going to tell you, but as punishment for your lack of faith I'll make you apologize to me later. The car is downstairs, so we should bug out if we're going to be on time." Both men slipped their phones, keys and wallets in their pockets and headed out the door. Downstairs, a Lincoln Town car, complete with chauffeur, was waiting for them. They climbed in and headed toward an apartment building in a more moderately priced part of town.

Heading up to the apartment to pick up their dates, Logan decided to appeal to Dick's compassionate side, on the faith that he had one. "Hey, can you do me a favor? Things were a little touchy with Charlie after the dinner at Adam's a couple weeks ago. Maybe you could get through the night without bringing up shit from when we were kids, or when Ronnie and I were dating? He's pretty cool about our being friends again and I don't really want to blow that with ancient history."

Dick stopped walking and knocked on the door to apartment 6B. "Yeah, cool. I totally get it. Don't want to give the guy mental pictures of you slipping it to Ronnie. No problem."

Before Logan could respond the door was opened by an attractive brunette in her mid-twenties. She let them in and introductions were made all around. The brunette was Claudia, Dick's date, and the friend she had roped into joining them was a knock-out redhead named Henrietta, Henry for short. Logan was surprised, pleasantly so, that they lacked the slutty vibe Dick was usually attracted to. They were both modestly attired in cocktail dresses, their makeup was applied with taste, and neither was wearing a necklace spelling out her name in two inch cursive letters.

After helping the women put on their coats and waiting while they gathered their purses and keys, the foursome made their way to the elevator. Logan answered their questions regarding the plans for the evening, and then followed Dick into the car after helping their dates get in.

The driver told them traffic was a bit heavy but they should reach the club by eight o'clock. They got down to the business of getting to know each other after settling in with glasses of champagne. Logan started by asking, "So, Claudia. How did you meet Dick?"

Claudia laughed. "Actually, it was just this morning. I was at Barney's shopping for a gift for my grandfather and he asked my opinion on which tie to buy. He made me laugh and took me for coffee." She grinned, "Then he fed me a sob story about the two of you being dateless tonight, and begged me to bring a friend and join you guys tonight. After promising me you weren't a troll, of course."

Logan grinned back, "Well, the jury is still out on that one." He turned to Henry and unleashed the full power of his charm on her. "Thanks for joining us. I think you'll make the evening a lot more fun. I just moved here and didn't really know anybody to ask."

Henry blinked a little bit and blushed becomingly, surprising him. She glanced away for a second before meeting his gaze and responding, "It's my pleasure. So what brought you to New York?"

They talked the rest of the drive, exchanging basic information about careers and how long they had lived in the city. While Claudia had grown up in New York, Henrietta was a native of Philadelphia. They had both attended NYU, and met when they were paired up to be dorm mates sophomore year. Now Claudia worked for a Manhattan marketing firm, and Henry was an associate at a law firm.

They asked a lot of questions about what it was like growing up in California, and then talked about some of the books Logan had edited. While Claudia was more of a Vogue and Cosmo girl, he was happy to find out that Henry was well read. She told him she had been pre law through college, but had minored in English literature. They spent the rest of the ride debating the merits of tomes by Fitzgerald, Salinger and Steinbeck. Meanwhile, Claudia filled in Dick on the Manhattan club scene, and started a debate on which bands were the hottest at the moment.

Logan was having such a good time with Henry that he was almost sorry when they pulled up outside of the club and had to cut their conversation short. He couldn't remember the last time he had been on a date with a woman as intelligent, well-spoken and classy as she was. Maybe it was time to start giving Dick more credit.

They entered the club to find Charlie, Adam, Trent, Jerry, Marjorie, and Judith, who had just returned from Italy, were already there. Judith's date entered just behind them and introductions were made all around while another table was pulled over to accommodate the larger group. After their drinks had arrived Dick asked, "So where's Ronnie?"

Charlie explained, "She's just finishing something at work. She called and said she'd be here in a couple of minutes."

Adam looked at his watch, and then glanced toward the back of the club. He stood up and raised his glass to Charlie. "Charlie, I wracked my brain to try and think of the perfect gift for you. But, as you have more than enough money to buy whatever you want, and your needs are so damn simple you want for nothing, I had to get creative." Those who knew Adam let out a low laugh in anticipation of whatever was to follow.

Adam continued, "Recently, I told you Veronica lost a bet to me that she had to repay when and how I saw fit. Well, tonight I am taking that win and paying it forward to you. Happy Birthday."

At that moment, the lights in the club dimmed and the sounds of a slow and melodious song started from the stage. The curtains parted to reveal a group consisting of four musicians, and a singer center stage. The only lights were low and from behind, causing the singer to be silhouetted, a womanly figure slowly moving her hips in time to the music. After a moment, a bright spotlight lit up to show Veronica, her platinum hair falling in soft waves and covering one eye, much like her namesake Veronica Lake. She was in a dress made of horizontal gold strips of silk that ran tightly across her body and over her curves. It fell just below the knee, had short sleeves and a high scooped neckline, as well as a side slit that pushed the boundaries of modesty by several inches.

She began singing in a low, sultry voice, using the microphone as if it were her lover's ear she was whispering secrets into. While she sang, she alternated running her hands slowly over her hips seductively and grasping the microphone.

**When I woke up this afternoon  
I know I felt… uneasy  
But no matter what I do  
Nothing seemed to please me  
I couldn't get out of my head  
That little fight we had… last night  
But I would much rather be dead  
Than admit to myself… that you were right**

**Oh…Oh…Ohhh**

From the moment he caught sight of her on stage, Logan forgot that she was singing for Charlie. Forgot he was at a table with Charlie and all his friends. Forgot he was on a date with a gorgeous redhead he was enjoying the hell out of only seconds before. His every thought was focused on the siren on stage, and he lost any presence of mind that would allow him to tear his eyes away until he could gain control over himself again.

**Don't be silly  
Turn on Billie  
She's singing us to sleep  
So we can dream our lives away  
And if we wake up  
In full make-up  
We'll paint the town in blue  
Cause baby, red is so passé**

Veronica's eyes were locked with Charlie's as she sang and swayed to the music. Then, while the band took over, she turned around to reveal that the back of her dress was scooped so low, it stopped just shy of being illegal. Her hips slowly moved back and forth to the beat, dragging the eyes of Logan, and probably every other guy in the place, to her beautifully sculpted...

She turned around and seemed to briefly lock eyes on him while singing the next two lines.

**Now don't look at me that way  
You know I just can't… take it**

Her gaze shifted back to Charlie so quickly Logan wasn't sure he hadn't imaged it.**  
**

**And no matter what they say  
I know that we will…. Make it  
Cause when we are good we are grand**

Her eyes flitted to him again, oh so briefly before returning to Charlie. This time Logan knew he hadn't imaged it.

**But when we're bad… we are.. very bad (so bad)  
But I stick around  
Cause the love that you are giving me is the best  
I have ever had**

** Oh… Oh... Oh… Ohhh**

The rest of the performance seemed to go by in a blur. Logan was held captive by her until she finished the song, and he made himself stand and cheer with the rest of the table, the spell finally broken. When Veronica finished bowing and turned to thank the band, knowing she would be joining their group at the table in a moment, Logan excused himself and headed to the restrooms. The hallway was narrow and dimly lit, and he was grateful for the shadows. He didn't make it as far as the men's room before he starting to shake and gasp for air. He had to stop and lean against the wall, grab his knees and take deep breaths in an attempt to cease the quaking spreading through his limbs.

He had even less success calming his thoughts than he did his body. He had spent so much time with Veronica lately-her and Charlie. Their new friendship suffered some bumps in the beginning, but they were finally in a good place. He had meant it when he told Charlie she was his family; being with her again had felt like being home.

And the past few weeks Logan had been reminded why they had always had so much fun together; why it was so easy with her. They knew each other so well, and had a habit of picking up each others rhythms and cadences like true friends do. But…somewhere along the way, he had fallen in love with her again. He had been fooling himself for, who knows how long, that they were _just_ friends. That he didn't seek out ways to spend time with her. That he could entertain the thought of wanting any woman but her. Because he did. He wanted her so fucking badly. A visceral need for her drove all thoughts of Charlie out of his mind.

* * *

Veronica bowed as the applause and catcalls came from all corners of the barroom. Dick's unmistakable "Yeow!" reached her ears and she laughed, silently cursing and thanking Adam for making her do this. She turned and thanked the band, then climbed off the stage and headed toward their table. Charlie was laughing and shaking Adam's hand, and she couldn't help but laugh too when he scooped her up and spun her around before kissing her.

"That was amazing! And definitely the best birthday present anyone ever gave me. You were incredible!" Charlie enthused. His grin was so wide she was sure his cheeks would hurt the next day.

Veronica was passed around as all her friends, and even Dick and a couple women she didn't know, rhapsodized about how phenomenal her performance was. Logan's absence was conspicuous, but she chose not to mention it. Once everyone was done doling out their praise she explained, "It was about to get a lot more phenomenal since I have to pee so badly. The Dictator," she indicated Adam, "wouldn't let me go in case I messed up the dress. Be right back." She headed toward the restrooms at a fast clip, as much from bodily need as emotional. The way Logan had looked at her during the song had thrown her off a bit, and she needed a moment to collect herself.

As Veronica entered the hallway, she saw a tall man bent over with his hands on his knees. At the sound of her footsteps he stood up, and she realized it was Logan. When she got closer she recognized the fire that smoldered in his eyes. She remembered far too well it was the look he would get right before...dammit. Right before he claimed her, in one way or another. The look she could never resist no matter how angry or annoyed with him she had been the moment before.

They both froze in place as the desire pooled in her belly, and she felt herself unable to tear herself away from his intense gaze. Without even realizing how it had happened, Veronica found herself pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his back. One of his arms was around her waist while the other cupped the side of her jaw, his fingers entwined in her hair. His eyes were black pools of need as they searched hers, and found her wanting as well. But some vestiges of decency and character overrode them both, before they sank into the kiss that was hovering between them. She stepped back and he let her go without a word, watching as she entered the ladies room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Once Veronica was gone, Logan forced himself to get control so he was able to return to the table. Years of visiting his parents on set and watching them prepare for scenes had taught him well how to fake it. He checked in with Henry, made sure she had a fresh drink and was enjoying herself. He joined in the laughter and banter, and when Veronica returned to the table he publicly congratulated her on her performance. Neither gave any indication of their encounter in the hallway moments before. She had taken the time to change into a dress with a little more freedom to move and, it seemed, had also used the time to compose herself so it was unapparent that anything untoward had happened between them. If their gazes locked once more for just a few seconds, or if they didn't speak to each other again while finishing their drinks and walking a block down the street to the restaurant, no one else seemed to notice.

Dinner was a raucous affair, with everyone joining in various conversations and seeming to enjoy themselves. Logan was solicitous of Henry, making sure she was well taken care of during the meal and kepingt her laughing to ensure she had a good time. Again, no one seemed to notice when the dialogue volleyed around the table, but Logan and Veronica never spoke directly to each other. The wine flowed freely, and everyone took turns toasting Charlie. Then Dick got the entire restaurant to participate in singing 'Happy Birthday' to him.

When it was time to head to the club for dancing, all ten of them laughingly squeezed into the limo Dick had rented for the evening. Due to the crowded conditions, Logan talked Henry into sitting in the front with himself and the driver, putting the maximum distance possible between him and Veronica. He thanked God that Dick had arranged a date for him, giving him someone else to focus on for the evening. Concentrating on Henry would let everyone think he was being a good date, not avoiding Veronica. And he was avoiding her. His only hope was that it would be easy to stay away from her at the dance club. If you follow etiquette rules, what is the proper small talk to have with a woman you just realize you love, had almost kissed, and who was living with one of your best friends?

As they pulled to a stop in front of a dance club named Stomp, Dick's date Claudia began to get excited, squealing and bouncing in her seat. "I've always wanted to come here. But I've heard it's _really _hard to get on the guest list. How did you do it?"

Adam answered her with a grin, "I might have dated the owner a few years ago. It's amazing what the memory of a good blow job will get you in this town."

While everyone else laughed, Trent rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Don't overestimate your abilities, stud. It didn't hurt that you mentioned a famous writer and son of Hollywood royalty would be in our group."

They poured out of the limo and followed Adam to the entrance of the club, bypassing the roped off line of hopefuls waiting for entrance. The bouncer checked off something on his list and spoke into his walkie talkie, then opened the velvet ropes to allow their entrance. They were immediately led to a couple of reserved tables in the VIP section.

The club theme was speakeasy, the walls decorated with art deco motif and the wait staff bedecked in flapper dresses and old fashioned waiter tuxedos. Once their drink orders were taken, Adam laid down a few edicts for the evening. "Ok, here's how it works. Everyone dances—no claiming you're too old to cut a rug, Jerry. And no fair dancing with the same person more than two songs in a row—you can couple off in the privacy of your own whatever later. So in the immortal words of Kevin Bacon, 'Let's Dance!'"

Claudia and Dick didn't have to be told twice. They took off for the dance floor at a fast clip, and showed themselves for the club rats they were. Following close behind were Adam and Trent, whose skills weren't quite up to Adam's but he followed well enough. The rest of them hit the floor, beginning the evening by dancing with their respective dates to kick things off. Adam had been right; the DJ played a mix of fun songs ranging from the 30s to the present, rather than just a bunch of variations of a bass line like most dance clubs. Those who actually knew how to dance had fun showing off. Those who didn't, just let loose and didn't worry about looking ridiculous, though many of them did.

Logan was pleased to discover Henry wasn't entirely unskilled, though she was no match for Veronica. He kept things simple, sticking to classic dance moves rather than the step point, hip hop ones Claudia and Dick were showing off, even though it was an oldie playing. He made a point of not looking for Charlie and Veronica, until Henry started laughing and directed his attention to his left. Though the song, 'Reet Petite' was easy to follow, Charlie was moving to a beat all his own. Looking like a cross between someone having an epileptic seizure and a drunken uncle at a wedding, he was doing his best to lead Veronica around the dance floor. Far from being put off she just laughed and followed him as best she could, their smiling faces showing his lack of rhythm didn't dampen their fun in the least.

Watching, Logan couldn't help laughing, too. Whatever had happened between Veronica and him earlier would keep; they both deserved a chance to figure out what it meant. Tonight was about Charlie, his rhythmically challenged friend. First whispering in Henry's ear, he grabbed her hand and headed for the DJ booth. His request, accompanied by a bill slipped into the DJs hand surreptitiously, was granted and they headed back out to the floor to dance and await the next song.

As the final notes of Jackie Wilson's classic faded, the DJ's voice could be heard clearly over the crowd. "This next one goes out to Charlie, for his birthday. You are one of a kind, and thank god or people might lose their lives on this dance floor." As the beginning notes of Jon Fratelli's 'Rhythm Doesn't Make You a Dancer" started, the birthday crowd cheered and whistled, leading Charlie to take a bow before taking Veronica in his arms again to resume dancing, badly.

The next several songs found them all following Adam's rules, Dick gamely dancing with Trent when they found all the other men and women in their group paired off. As couples shifted Logan and Veronica managed to avoid dancing with each other for quite a while, until he heard the beginning chords of the Andrew Sister's 'Hold Tight'. Figuring they had to dance together sooner or later, he knew they were better off with a fast swing number. He grabbed her hand and turned her around, leading her in such a quick stepped number she couldn't do anything but keep up. His intention was to not make it obvious they were avoiding each other, but also not create an opportunity where they had to talk. However, rather than the number letting them fly under the radar, it grew a crowd around them to cheer them on. She once again matched him step for step, and he couldn't help but smile at her. By the end of the song they were both laughing and enjoying the hell out of themselves. They finished with Logan first flipping, and then catching her to spin her out, only to bring her back and end the number by dipping her so far back in a Cherry Bomb that she almost touched the floor. As she smiled up at him, their audience broke into applause, hooting and hollering their approval.

As Murphy's Law would dictate, the next song was a slow one. He reluctantly moved to take her in his arms when they realized everyone else was still paired off. While Sam Cooke crooned 'These Arms of Mine', they danced in silence for a moment, neither looking at each other as they swayed across the floor. Finally, unable to bear the silence, Logan looked down at her and quietly spoke her name, "Veronica."

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time since starting the slow number and implored, "Don't Logan. Not now, not tonight."

He swallowed, seeing the plea in her eyes and the confusion behind it. When? He wanted to ask, but instead just nodded his assent. "Ok, not tonight." He could see the worry his words brought out in her, and that she understood even if it wasn't tonight, they would talk. They finished the dance as polite strangers, with the maximum distance between their bodies and watching the other couples around them instead of each other. Mercifully, they were able to get through the rest of the evening without having to pair off again.

The dancing concluded a few hours later, and they all spent several minutes wishing each other a good night outside the club. Again he and Veronica got away with the bare minimum of contact before the others divided into taxis. Claudia, Dick, Henry and he all climbed back into their limo. Logan and Henry spent the first part of the ride in silence, trying to avoid watching as Claudia and Dick made out across from them. True to form, Dick got out at Claudia's apartment and made it clear he wouldn't see Logan until the next day. At least, clear if you spoke Dick. The "Yeah, later Dude," Logan was granted could be interpreted that way.

Once the exhibitionist couple was gone, he and Henry caught each others eye and started laughing. She gave the limo driver her address then turned to Logan. "Well, that was kind of embarrassing. She's always been more of a free spirit than I am."

Logan laughed and said, "And Dick is…well, he's Dick. But it seems we all ended up with the date we needed tonight. I had a great time with you. I'm glad you joined us."

They pulled up to her apartment building and she hesitated before opening the door. "Logan, I had a really great time tonight, for a few reasons. Your friends were a lot of fun, and you are the best date I've had in a long time. But I'm also coming off a long term relationship that ended in a brutal breakup. I'm kind of a train wreck. Tonight was Claudia trying to get me back out in the world to have fun, and I did. So thank you. Tonight was a big step forward for me."

Logan nodded sagely and took her hand in his. "I meant everything I said tonight. I had a great time and I don't know many people in the city. You met all of them tonight. What do you say we just hang out sometime as friends? I understand what you're going through, I've been there."

Henry squeezed his hand in return, her frown deepening. "I could be off base on this because I don't really know you or your friends, but I got the feeling you _are_ there. I'm all for being friends but I can't do that pretending I didn't see what's between you and Veronica. How about you call me sometime if you want someone to talk to?"

He nodded, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat at her words. As she made for the door, Logan got out and held it open for her. Still holding her hand from helping her out of the car, as she stood he leaned down and kissed her cheek, receiving a sympathetic hug in return before she turned and entered her building.

Once she was gone and he was on his way home he allowed the question to finally penetrate his thoughts. _Now what?_

**A/N: For those that were wondering, the song is The Pierces 'Turn on Billie'. Not only were many of the words fitting for the scene, it seemed like a song KB could totally nail with that voice of hers. I would love to know what you think of the chapter, or anything else so shoot me a review when you get a moment. **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I am bereft of ownage.**

Chapter 18

Though he went right to bed after getting home, Logan only tossed and turned before giving up on sleep altogether. His thoughts were on a ceaseless loop, wondering what it meant that she came at him in that hallway. Wondering when it was he fell back in love with her, recognizing how much he had missed her. Images of Veronica on stage at the club and in the hallway after, but also answering the door to her apartment in jeans, sharing a pancake breakfast in pajamas and a multitude of other images flew through his head. His body was like a live wire, thrumming with sexual tension and heartache.

Unable to find his rest, he threw on a muscle shirt and mesh shorts, then grabbed a towel and pair of swim trunks and headed down to the gym. An hour on the treadmill then another thirty minutes in the weight room, followed by a brutal bout of lap swimming managed to exhaust his body, but did nothing to ease his mind. Standing under the hot shower in his apartment, he was blindsided by a memory he hadn't indulged in for years.

_Hearing a knock, he dropped the ice pack used to nurse his sore, bloody knuckles and went to answer the door. He opened it to find Veronica pacing the hallway. She didn't wait for him to move, just pushed past him into the living room and threw her bag on the ground before turning to him angrily._

_The look of fury on her face was unmistakable, and familiar. Her voice made it a matched set when she yelled, _"_What the hell were you thinking? I told you Gorya is connected—as in mob—as in he just has to consult his menu to decide if he wants your kneecaps blown or you chopped into little pieces and dumped in a lake! God! You never stop to think—think that maybe I care less about having that video made public than I care about you being alive. You are such a jackass!"_

_Rather than rise to the bait, Logan decided his best defense was sarcasm, so turned to face her. "And we're back in junior year. Name calling, really? I thought we were past all that."_

_His words were turned against him as she answered, _"_And we should be past the point where you think you have to fight every fight for me. You don't. I can take care of myself and, like I told you when you beat up Piz, it couldn't be less of your business!"_

_Throwing her boyfriend in his face was all he needed to push him over the edge. His voice rose several decibels and he began to pace as he yelled back at her. "Oh, well let's talk about Piz, shall we? Where was he when you figured out who taped you? Why didn't he do anything to defend you, to make it right?"_

"_Piz is smart enough to realize that sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is walk way. And thanks for that, by the way. After your little testosterone show he dumped me because, apparently, having you in my life at all is just, and I quote, 'too much drama'." Each sentence had brought her a step closer. Only inches from him at this point, her anger made her cheeks pink and her eyes spark._

_Her proximity and fury were intoxicating and, adding the fact that she was now single, proved too much to resist. Logan knew she wouldn't abide cheating any more than he would; they had both been hurt too badly by their parents adultery, and it was understood that was a line neither would cross. But if Piz had broken up with her, that line was gone so there was nothing to hold him back from reaching out to draw her close. _

_He initiated a kiss full of passion, which she returned for an all too brief moment. When Veronica realized what she was doing, she turned her head and put her hands up to push against his chest. Shakily she told him, "Stop, that's not why I came here."_

_Logan stopped the kiss but didn't let her go. Using one arm to keep her close, he used his free hand to cup her chin and turn her head to face him. He brushed an errant lock of hair off her face and looked into her eyes for a moment before he whispered, "Then why did you come here?"_

_He could barely hear her as she said softly, "To tell you you're an idiot. That you're in danger. You need to leave town and find a way to protect yourself."_

_He studied her for a moment while he thought furiously. "Ok. I will, on one condition. Come with me. Be with me. I've missed you."_

_She started struggling within the confines of his arms but he only pulled her closer, resting his forehead against hers. "Stop, Veronica, please. I let you go before; I don't want to make the same mistake again."_

_She stopped struggling and left her forehead against his while the tears started to flow down her cheeks. "That's all we do, make the same mistakes again and again."_

_He tipped his head back and looked at her. With only a little irony he offered, "Tell me I'm not the best mistake you've ever made, and then I'll let you go."_

_She studied him, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were still falling from her eyes. Slowly, she raised her hands to wrap her arms around his neck. Her head tilted as he lowered his until their lips met, this time with hesitation. After a moment her mouth opened and he matched her, deepening the kiss and lifting her up to his height, pulling her in closer to his chest. Their kiss grew more passionate, and he knew the last of her anger had left when her legs lifted, and wrapped around his waist. _

_With a groan he lowered his hands to support her while walking them to the couch. He fell forward, careful to maintain contact through their kiss while also making sure not to crush her with his weight. He left her mouth to make a trail of nips to her neck, finding her most sensitive spots by memory and pausing to suck a bit at each one. Her gasps, and the increased pressure with which she pressed herself against him, made him smile against her neck before moving up to bite at her earlobe, then flick a tongue along its' outer edge. _

_Her growl was feral as her hands went under his shirt to rake his back; a move she knew drove him equally crazy. He chuckled at her ear, setting off a shiver that he felt move through her as he did so. _

_Before things flew too far out of control he pulled back a bit to look her in the eyes. As much as Logan loved the art of seduction, he never wanted any confusion that if she was with him, it was her choice. She had had that choice taken away from her one night by Cassidy and Duncan both, and him by proxy when he procured the drugs that led to her rape. He never wanted to get so carried away that he missed any indication he should stop. It was too easy to get carried away once things heated up between them and, having been apart for so long, he needed the reassurance. Though her eyes showed no fear or hesitation he still commanded, "Tell me."_

_Knowing the purpose of his plea, Veronica met his gaze head on and made her intentions clear. She gave him a smile and said, "If you stop I may have to taze you."_

_Logan grinned and lowered his head to kiss her the way he knew made her wild. Using his tongue to lavish hers, he ran it between her top lip and teeth, earning the expected shiver of delight, then lightly bit her lower lip before sucking on it. He moved his hands from her back to slide under her shirt and cup her breasts, bracing one leg on the floor to support his weight while the other rode high between her thighs. She ground against him in an obvious effort to relieve the pressure his ministrations were causing her. _

_He helped as Veronica tugged at his shirt to pull it over his head. Figuring things should stay on an even playing field, he sat back and pulled her to a sitting position so he could return the favor. Her bra quickly joined their shirts in a pile on the floor, before he tipped her back to once again lie on the couch. He scooted down to nestle between her legs and turned all his all attentions to her breasts. He remembered well what she liked, and intended to savor every moment of their reunion. _

_Using one hand to cup a breast, he lowered his head to the other and began nipping around the sensitive areola while waiting to give it its' due. He pulled the skin into his mouth, then smiled at the red mark that remained when he let go. Impatient with the teasing, she arched her back and rubbed a hardened nipple against his cheek to signal what she wanted. Obligingly, he turned his head and took it in his mouth, suckling a bit before swirling his tongue around the sensitive nub. As he captured the hard pebble in his teeth he mimicked his actions with his hand on her other breast, causing her to again arch her back, and then call out his name. When she twined her fingers in his hair and raked his scalp with her nails, a jolt of desire shot straight to his groin and he let out a low moan._

_Logan alternated his hands and mouth to give equal attention to both breasts, loving when he saw the color rise in her chest as she heated under his attentions. Finally having enough, she lifted her head and pulled his face up to meet hers, kissing him with a passion that almost destroyed his resolve to take things slow. Almost. _

_Feeling the tightness in his pants ease, he realized she had opened his fly and was using the tread on her shoes to push his pants down while she simultaneously reached down to squeeze him through his boxers. "Fuck, Veronica" he gasped against her cheek, feeling himself grow even harder. _

_Using his shoes against each other he managed to kick them off, then sat on the arm of the couch to finish removing his jeans, as she so obviously wanted. Determined to slow things down, he stood and leaned over to pick up one of her feet. He took his time untying the laces of her shoe before removing it, and then pulled off her sock and placed them both gently on the floor before beginning to bare her other foot. She watched him with knowing eyes, an eyebrow quirked in amusement. Using the foot he had started with, she stretched out and pressed it between his thighs, putting a delicious amount of pressure against his balls. She then slid her foot inside the loose leg hem of his shorts to caress him, using her toes against his head in a way that let him know she meant to get down to business._

_Before he could return her second bare foot to the couch, she pulled it out of his hands so she could sit up and scoot to be right in front of him. Placing her hands on his hips she looked up at him and gave a saucy grin, before lowering his boxers to put her eye to…well, eye. Keeping her gorgeous blue eyes locked on his she reached out a hand and grasped him, squeezing his cock with one fist before beginning to slowly run it up and down his length. She kept up the pace until he issued a bit of precum, which she reached out licked with the tip of her tongue while he watched. He let out a moan and placed his hand on the back of her head. Realizing, for at least a little while, she was in control, he begged her, "Please, baby." _

_He kept his eyes locked on her actions, since watching her was almost as exciting as what she was doing to him. She closed her eyes and circled her tongue around his head, putting one hand at his base while moving the other to cup his testicles. Quickly, she took all of him in her mouth, then slowly backed up and sucked at his head a bit and tongued his sensitive spot before repeating the motion. He felt his pulse quicken and the pressure grow as she continued her actions. As he got more caught up in the sensations the fellatio was creating in him, he began to thrust his hips gently in time with her mouth. But he knew he wanted his turn before things came to a premature end, as they were bound to if she kept it up. _

_Pulling his hips back he chuckled at her frustrated groan. She pouted adorably up at him. "I was just getting started."_

"_No, you were just about to make me finish and no way is that happening until I'm buried inside you and you are right there with me," he warned._

"_Well, when you put it that way." Veronica stood up to put herself eye level with his trunk. Damn she was short. Her mouth ran across his sensitive chest, giving his nipples similar attention to what he had given hers earlier. Hands raked up his back again while he reached down to remove her belt and open her jeans. Once that was accomplished he dropped to his knees on the rug and yanked the jeans halfway down in one motion. From his position it was easy to make her knees bend so that she fell on the couch, then yanked her jeans the rest of the way off by pulling them inside out, and threw them across the room. She looked at him, naked except for her red bikinis, and laughed. _

_"Nice move. Get that one off of Skinimax?" _

_Logan laughed back and leaned in to kiss her, but ended up just pressing a smile against her lips instead. He talked and divested her of her last article of clothing at the same time. "No, that one was all mine. But never underestimate the educational power of good porn ~Dick Casablancas."_

_She crinkled up her nose. "Did you really just quote Dick while we were doing this?"_

"_Hmmm. I am really sorry. And I truly intend to make it up to you right…here." He moved his lips down to lay a trail of kisses from her jaw down her neck. "And here," His kisses moved to her breast, then was replaced by his tongue and teeth, which made her draw in a breath. "And here," His tongue circled her navel before he laid a chaste kiss in the center. "And…" he moved his hands to her inner thighs and lightly stoked them with his nails, causing her to gasp. _

_Moving his hands down her thighs and calves, he grasped her feet and raised them to the couch, giving him a beautiful view of her. His cock twitched at the sight and he had to remind himself yet again to go slow. Placing the heel of one hand against her pelvis, he used his fingers to hold her even more open and, with the index finger of his other hand, ran it up and down her pink folds. He looked at her, watching as she closed her eyes when his finger made contact with her clit. He knew she felt his touch stronger when her eyes were closed; she liked to block out other stimuli to better focus on his attentions. He had also discovered, to his delight, that she responded overwhelmingly to his talking her through the act in detail._

_His middle finger joined the first and he entered to find her hot and slick. "God, Veronica you are so wet. And so beautiful." He started to slowly move his fingers in a circular motion to make more room to follow later, with the added bonus of hearing her breath come out in a raspy exhale. He moved in deeper then smiled when her jaw went slack as all her attention narrowed to what his fingers were doing. Briefly, he dipped his thumb into her well before he started to pump slowly. When his moistened thumb moved to touch her clit she jumped and cried out, so he pulled it away to tease her just a bit. "I love it when you sound like that." He pushed farther into her with each stroke, feeling how snugly her muscles were clenching his fingers. _

"_God, you are so tight. I can't wait to be inside you." He crooked his fingers until he found the nubby skin of her G spot, and made sure to hit it with each stroke. He once again lowered his thumb to rub her clit and felt his balls tighten when she whimpered. As her breath became more ragged he knew he needed more of her. He lowered his head to replace his thumb with his tongue, smiling when her hips thrust forward to get closer to him. He quickened his tongue and fingers, recognizing the signs when she got closer to the edge. _

_Suddenly he felt the fingers that were twined in his hair turn into a fist and Veronica pulled up his head to make him look at her. "Logan," her word was a command._

_Needing no more invitation, he rose and made short work of putting on one of the condoms he kept in the end table next to the couch. That done, he smiled when she threw her knees over his shoulders and looked at him with a smile of anticipation. Squaring himself and aiming at her center, he plunged in up to the hilt in one stroke, wrenching a guttural cry from her. He then used his hands to grasp her hips and control their movements, so he could slowly back out almost all the way before slamming into her again. Each time he drove home she cried out in pleasure, and he felt her tighten even more around him as her need escalated. His orgasm built with each of her cries and he fought to hold on just a little longer. "Jesus, you feel good. So tight. I'm close."_

_At his imploring look, she followed the silent command. She placed two fingers in his mouth for him to wet, then reached down and began rubbing her clit, ever faster in time to the quickening strokes of his cock. Their gazes locked on each other, her cries became words as she came ever closer to exploding, "Yes, yes, Logan. I'm coming. Love you. God, harder, I'm coming, I'm coming. Yes! Yes!" _

_At the same time he began gasping his own litany, "Ron—love you, fuck yes, so good baby, so good, so good!" When the distinct sound of her climax hit his ears, and he felt her interior spasm milk his cock, he couldn't hold out any longer and came in a hot rush._

The hot water beat down his back while he fist pumped his cock furiously. He leaned forward to brace himself against the shower wall just before he came, and cried out at the sudden release. When the last shudder of his orgasm had faded, he stepped back to stand flush with the opposite shower wall before sagging to the floor, aching with loss.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I own nothing...  
**

Chapter 19

Saturday morning found Veronica sleeping in after nine o'clock, a rare luxury. She and Charlie hadn't gotten home from Stomp until after one and then stayed up for another hour celebrating privately. When the alarm had gone off at five so he could catch his plane to Africa, she stayed up to see him off and then went straight into work. She had put in extra time last night, partly to avoid coming home to an empty apartment. But now, she reveled in the luxury of an entire weekend alone. The weekends she wasn't working Charlie usually set aside his writing and kept them busy; he wasn't one to lounge in front of the television. So, her alarm clock was taking the weekend off with her. She had a pile of DVDs she was planning to watch, and an assortment of pajamas she intended to spend the entire weekend wearing. However, her blissful plans were dampened by the recurring thoughts about Logan she had been having since Thursday night.

Things had been going so well. Reconnecting with Logan had eased a lot of the guilt she had been carrying around for years. Being able to put aside their past, and be friends as adults, had turned everything right side up. They had gone through too much too young for her life to ever feel right without him in it. But then, she had stumbled across him in that hallway, and he had given her that look. That damn look. But, how in the hell had she ended up in his arms? The last was a question she was afraid she already knew the answer to.

The sound of a knock at the door stopped her ruminating. With a sigh Veronica and got up to answer it, first pulling on her favorite cardigan and slippers. She should have been surprised to find Logan on her doorstep, but a part of her had known he would come. They looked at each other in silence for a moment before she stood back to let him in. She brushed past him and shuffled toward the kitchen after closing the door. "I just got up and need coffee. Want some?" she threw over her shoulder.

"Yeah, coffee would be good." Logan followed her and pulled up a chair, sitting at the table to watch her preparations. They both knew they needed to talk, but neither was eager to get started. "Did Charlie get off on his trip okay?"

"Yeah," she answered. "He called when he touched down at Port Elizabeth airport about four this morning, but now he is out of phone range. His parents live so far off the grid it usually takes about two weeks just to get a letter to them." She finished prepping the coffee maker and started the brew, pulling down two mugs to have at the ready. With nothing else commanding her attention at the moment, she turned to face him. He had dark shadows under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in a couple of nights.

Already knowing the answer, Veronica asked, "Logan, what are you doing here?"

He looked at her, and then shuddered. His agitation brought him to his feet to pace while he spoke. "I don't know…going to hell? Something happened, shifted, and I don't know how to make it shift back. As much as I want it to—"

Logan's speech was cut short by the ringing of the phone. She gave him a sympathetic look and held up a finger, then went to answer it. She had to, in case it was Charlie calling. But truthfully, she was thankful for the interruption.

* * *

Logan watched, hearing only her end of the conversation. Veronica answered and said, "Hello…yes this is she…no, no wait I don't understand…I don't…"

He watched as her face became pale and she dropped the phone. He was by her side in a moment to catch her as she ell to her knees, then he reached out and picked up the phone. He could feel her shaking as she clung to him, her complete silence disturbing him more than anything else. She buried her face in his chest while he spoke to her mystery caller.

"Hello? Who is this?" he asked.

"Yes, I was calling to speak to Veronica Mars," a woman's voice spoke through the phone.

Logan was one part angry and three parts petrified as he spoke. "Well, you did that and whatever you said upset the hell out of her. I'm a friend of hers; can you tell me what's going on?"

The woman explained, "I'm Deputy Sheriff Hansen. I work with her father. I had to call and tell her…this morning he wasn't working, but he stopped by a convenience store for gas and stumbled into a robbery. He's been shot. He is in critical condition and is being rushed into emergency surgery right now." Listening to the news, he was grateful he was already sitting on the floor with Veronica. His knees felt like they had turned to water; he knew how close she was to her father.

He spoke to Deputy Sheriff Hansen for another couple of moments, then gave her his cell number and asked her to text all the important details to him, as well as updates every ten minutes. She agreed and, after hanging up, he was finally able to turn his full attention to the tiny blond quaking in his arms.

Pulling back, Logan saw her face was a stark white mask of terror. Her eyes were unfocused, and stayed that way even when he took her face between his hands and yelled her name. He pulled her to her feet just to find he had to hold her up as she wouldn't stand on her own. He was afraid she was having some kind of stress reaction or panic attack and, having no idea what else to do, he scooped her up and headed to the bathroom. Placing her in the tub and apologizing before he did so, he turned the full force of a cold shower on her. She started, and then scrambled out of the tub and landed in a wet heap at his feet. He went down on one knee to watch as her eyes became aware, then flooded with pain. She sat back, leaning against the wall as he reached over to turn off the water.

He wished for her former catatonic state when she began to keen and hug her knees. After sitting beside her he again scooped her up, setting her in his lap. Hugging her tightly, he tried soothe with words. "Shhh, baby, he's gonna be okay. He's in surgery, they're going to take good care of him and he'll be just fine. Shhh, shhh." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as if for dear life. Her sobs wracked their bodies equally since they were pressed so close together.

Just as she was starting to calm down, the phone in his pocket dinged to let him know he had a text message. He wasn't sure how much of the phone call Veronica had registered, and didn't want her to find out through a text if her dad hadn't survived surgery, so he ignored it for the moment. Once she was breathing somewhat normally again, he tipped her back and took her face in his hands to gauge her current state. She was with him, but still pale and with an expression that conveyed the desolation she felt. The tear tracks were visible, so he reached over and grabbed a washcloth off a nearby shelf. After running it under the bathroom spigot, he used the cool cloth to remove all traces of her tears, then grabbed a towel and began drying her hair. That she put up with his care taking told him more about her mental state than anything else. "Are you ready to put some dry clothes on?" he asked.

She seemed confused, and then looked down at herself, seeming to realize she was wet for the first time. At her nod he helped her off his lap before standing them both up. His nudge sent her heading toward her bedroom, giving him the privacy to look at his phone. Thankfully, it was just the hospital information, but no news on the surgery yet_. _He changed the ringer to silent so she wouldn't notice it going off regularly and get curious.

He headed toward the bedroom where she had gone to change clothes. Finding the door open, he saw Veronica sitting on the edge of the bed still soaked from head to toe. "Veronica, do you need me to find some clothes for you?" he asked.

Her eyes once again showing confusion, she focused on him with effort and asked, "What? Logan?"

"Clothes, you're soaking wet," he explained. "You need to change and get ready to fly to Oregon. Do you want me to find some clothes for you?" Jesus, she was a mess. He'd never seen her like this and wasn't sure what the hell to do.

Her confusion cleared, only to be replaced by the pain as she remembered. "Dad? Logan is he…"

"He's still in surgery; I just spoke with Deputy Sheriff Hansen," he reassured her. Opening random drawers, he tried to find her some clothes for her to change into. After quickly assembling an outfit, he got down on eye level with her. "Veronica, can you get dressed? I need to go make a phone call."

At her nod he left the room, closing the door behind him. He searched the apartment, quickly finding her phone but cursed when he realized it was password protected. No surprise, she was always careful. He forced himself to slow down and think, then pulled out his phone and he went through the call log until he found the number Adam had called him from earlier in the week.

Checking down the hall to see the bedroom door was still closed, he hit the call button and thrummed his fingers against his thigh until Adam picked up. Quickly relaying the events of the morning, he asked Adam to figure out a way to get a hold of Charlie. If anybody could do it, he figured it was an FBI agent. Adam quickly agreed and promised to handle notifying their boss as well.

Once the logistics were taken care of Adam said, "Fuck, Logan, what a mess. How is she?"

The stress in his voice was thick as he answered, "Ummm, not good. She seems to seesaw between confused and terrified. I'm going to get her packed and make a plane reservation, and then make sure she is on it. She'll do better when she is close to her dad." That was his hope, anyway.

He promised to keep Adam updated then went back to check in on Veronica. Getting no answer to his calls, he knocked and entered the room only to find her still sitting on the bed in her wet clothes. Cursing silently, he left her and went back to the living to make his next call, this time to his travel agent. Within minutes she sent a text that confirmed the two of them were booked to leave JFK airport in less than two hours.

* * *

Once seated on the plane, with Veronica beside him, Logan finally allowed the fear of the past two hours settle over him. Since he had picked up her phone, every effort was spent to get Veronica to her dad as quickly as possible. With such short notice a commercial airline was the quickest way to get to Oregon, and he scrambled to get them out the door on time. Calling Dick, he arranged for his friend to meet him at the airport with a packed suitcase. He found a suitcase in Veronica's closet and spent a few precious minutes trying to get the appropriate clothing and toiletries sorted, before calling it good enough. Anything else they needed could be bought. He then had to remove Veronica's wet clothes and help her on with dry ones while she allowed the intimate act with the complicity of a small child. Picking up her brush he ran it through her hair before also throwing it in the suitcase. Finally, he rushed through the apartment turning off the coffee pot, finding her cell phone charger and packing it with her laptop and coordinating charger as well.

He left a note on the counter on the off chance Charlie came home before going to Oregon, then gathered a pair of slip on shoes and helped Veronica put them on her feet. True to her word Hansen texted him every ten minutes, though all she was telling him was that Keith Mars was still in surgery.

Grabbing her suitcase, messenger bag and coat in one hand, he used the other to guide her out the door. Every little while she would emerge from her confused state to ask about her father, retreating again when he told her he was still in surgery. She went along with the taxi ride, airport check in and security, as well as boarding.

Now, with his travel agent arranging for car rental and hotel rooms at the other end of their trip, he had nothing left to do but worry about Veronica. He had seen her furious, sad, vulnerable and scared but never, _never _had he seen her helpless. But, there was no other way to describe what she had become when facing the very real possibility of losing her father. He could help her through the travel arrangements, do and be anything and everything she needed while she was going through this, but wasn't sure if anyone could pull her out of the despair Keith Mars' death would inflict.

Her confusion and inertia lasted through the entire flight, as well as the hour and a half drive to the rural hospital. Therefore, he was unprepared for her to bolt from the car and head for the hospital at a dead run while he was still driving toward the parking lot. Cursing he quickly parked, locked up the vehicle and took off after her.

Once inside he followed the sound of her voice, hysterically yelling, "Where is my father!? Somebody tell me where he is! Where is my father!?" The only time he had ever heard that anguish in her voice was on graduation night, on the rooftop of the Neptune Grand when she was holding a gun to Cassidy. Hearing it again turned the blood in his veins to ice water.

Seeing a woman approach in a sheriff's uniform calmed Veronica. The woman quickly identified herself to Logan as Laura Hansen, whom he had spoken to that morning. She explained Keith was in recovery from his surgery, and offered to lead them to ICU. There, they got the information that the next twenty-four hours were critical for Keith, and his chances of making it were maybe 50/50. Veronica was only allowed to sit with him for five minutes every hour, being forced to spend the rest of her time awaiting his fate in ICU waiting room.

Logan didn't know if his presence was appropriate, but no way in hell was he leaving her. The fifty-five minutes between each visit with her dad were spent on a pendulum swing of emotions. When she cried, he held and rocked her. When she slipped into confusion and terror he brought her back. When she refused to eat or drink he told her in no uncertain terms if she didn't he would force her to leave the hospital. When she finally collapsed into sleep in his arms that night, after a bout of crying, he slept as well. The rest of the night she only slept if he held her between the five minute visits, and even then it was a fitful rest.

At one in the morning he received a text from Adam that he had done his best to reach Charlie, but they would have to wait and see if the message got through. A small part of him, a part he was deeply ashamed of, was glad. Though he knew he had usurped Charlie's rightful place in this moment, he would have gone crazy standing back while someone else took care of her.

Finally, at six the next evening, the doctor approached them. "Ms. Mars, your father's condition is stable and he has survived past the first twenty-four hours without further complications. We are going to keep him in a medically induced coma for the next day or two so he can continue to heal, and he is still listed as critical. However, it is my opinion that he has a good chance of recovery."

Logan watched as she crossed her arms, as if trying to hold in everything she was feeling. He came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her, then felt her hands grasp his forearms to hold him closer. The quiver in her voice was unmistakable as she asked, "Does this mean I can stay with him, in his room? I want him to know I'm there."

The doctor shook his head. "No, he we are keeping him in the ICU for now, so you are still limited to the five minute rule. Honestly, the best thing you can do is take care of yourself. We have your numbers to call if there are any changes, but you should leave. Eat a real meal, get some sleep in a real bed and come back in a few hours. He'll need you to be strong for him." He nodded and walked away.

Having held herself in as long as she could, Veronica turned in his arms and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. He held her tight as she sobbed in relief, his vision growing blurred as his eyes filled with tears as well. When she had calmed, he backed up a bit to look down at her.

He gave a low laugh and said, "God, your dad may not look it but he's the toughest son of a bitch I've ever known."

She laughed up at him, her eyes still shiny but the panic finally gone from them. However, the shadows under them spoke volumes about her exhaustion. He offered, "Our hotel is only five minutes away. They have room service so we can get the doctor prescribed meal and sleep in one place then be right back here."

She backed out of his arms, suddenly furious. "You're crazy if you think I'm stepping one foot out of this hospital until my dad wakes up. You can go but I'm staying. Right. Here." She punctuated her words by pointing down at the floor before turning to head back to their couch in the corner.

He was there for one reason, to take care of her. If she was going to be stubborn, he would be recalcitrant. He walked over and crouched in front her, placing his hands on her knees before meeting her stony expression with one of his own then explained. "I've been called crazy before. Even psychotic. I think it was you who once accused me of being a lunatic and I've never argued the point. But there is only one person I've ever been afraid of and it's not you. He is lying in a hospital bed fifty feet away from us." Her eyebrow cocked at his admission, then leveled again when he warned, "You're the crazy one if you think I'm going to let him wake up to see that I stood by while his one and only daughter suffered starvation and sleep deprivation at his bedside. Now go say goodbye to your father and get your ass in the car."

Her stare was as unwavering as his, at first. On a normal day this would have been the catalyst to an epic battle in their special brand of war. He was sure he only won today because she was emotionally wrought, and exhausted. She was the first to look away, then nodded and stood wiping the tears that fell down her cheeks. Without another word, she entered her dad's room for exactly five minutes before coming out and heading for the parking lot. She didn't spare him another glance, knowing he would follow.

Once they reached their hotel room, he put her suitcase in the bathroom so she could shower and change. He explained he was going to order them both room service so when she was done in the bathroom she could eat and go right to sleep. She stood at attention and saluted him and he chuckled, glad of the first sign her sense of humor was returning.

As soon as the bathroom door was closed he acted quickly. She had waited in the car while he checked in and, unbeknownst to her, he had rented two rooms that were adjoining. After placing the call to order room service, he took advantage of his momentary privacy.

Opening the adjoining door he quickly stashed her laptop, cell phone, and their room phone, then jammed some papers he ripped from the phone book under the door so it couldn't be opened. Exiting the adjoining room by the main door, he quickly entered their shared room again and locked the adjoining door. He made sure to plug in his cell charger so he would have a full battery should anyone need to get a hold of them. When she had been visiting her father before they left the hospital, he had instructed the nursing staff to call his cell first should the need arise.

From the sounds in the bathroom it sounded like she was managing her own ablutions and he was thankful. She seemed to be coming back to herself for the most part, but that just meant he had to be wily to keep a step ahead of her.

He worked the phone furiously for the next few minutes, and was thankful when he heard a knock at the door so he knew their food had arrived. She would need the distraction. She exited the bathroom just as he was closing the door behind room service, and the scent of barbeque burgers and fries had her smelling the air like Pepe Le Pew; he couldn't help but laugh. Some things never change. She had refused to eat anything more substantial than airplane peanuts, a banana and a granola bar since yesterday morning and, with her metabolism, he knew that meant she was starving by now. To be honest, the smell was making him feel a little feral as well, and they both quickly set up the meal at the table in the corner. The next few minutes were relatively quiet; the only sounds were of their eating and groaning while rolling their eyes back in their heads in satisfaction. Once the beast in his stomach had quieted a bit he looked at her. Her cheeks bulged with her latest bite, and smear of dark barbeque sauce drew a line from the corner of her mouth all the way down her chin. He laughed and handed her a napkin, then laughed again when she handed him one as well.

When they could talk again, he explained he had just called the hospital and there was no change. He also explained he had updated Adam on her dad's current condition and their whereabouts. Adam hadn't yet heard if his efforts to reach Charlie were successful. Hoping she would be satisfied for the moment, he grabbed a set of clothes and his dopp kit and headed for the bathroom. After taking the quickest shower of his life, he returned to the bedroom to find she had finished eating and was sitting in her chair looking like she was ready to pass out.

He coaxed her into bed and he shut all the curtains to black out the room as it was still a bit light outside. Once he was sure she was asleep, he turned off all the lights, then dragged a chair and placed it in front of the door before collapsing into it. It was as if he had been running strictly on adrenaline for the past forty hours—hell the past three days—and his body was finally giving in to exhaustion. He tucked his cell phone and car key into the back pocket of his pants before allowing himself to sink into a deep sleep as well.

It seemed like only moments later he woke up to feel small hands frisking him. His confusion cleared and a slow smile spread across his face when he heard her mutter, "Bastard!" under her breath.

"I don't know what you're looking for but maybe go a little to the left?" His tone was glib with the knowledge he was locked in a cage with a tiger, and was poking it with a stick. His eyes opened and he squinted to see that she had turned on a light in the otherwise darkened room.

Seeing he was awake, she gave up her search and turned her venom on him full force. "Where is my cell phone? My laptop? Where is the goddam room phone? What time is it?"

"They are all in a safe place until you get some sleep. You have a watch so you can check the time, and we haven't heard from the hospital so we know there are no changes. I instructed them to call my cell first. You aren't leaving here until you get some decent sleep." He checked his own watch. "And a half hour doesn't cut it. I have my cell and I promise you I will wake you up if there is any news."

"What if I just scream my head off until the police come?" she threatened.

"No police, only a sheriff's department and I already gave Hansen the heads up that you were a handful. Apparently your dad told her enough stories of your growing up that it wasn't hard to convince her. So that road will lead to nowhere. If you want out of this room you need to get some sleep."

He watched her to see what would happen, then let out a low laugh when she gave up and jumped up and down, growling in frustration. He grinned, then settled back and closed his eyes. "Turn out the light, will you?" He grinned even more when she responded by throwing the TV remote at his head, missing him only by inches before snapping off the light and crawling into bed.

Waking up sometime later he found she had joined him in the chair. Her tiny body was curled up into a ball, her head resting on his chest and arm loped around his neck. His leg had fallen asleep and his posture was causing his neck and back to protest painfully. But she was deeply asleep for the first time since this ordeal started, so he only responded by wrapping his arms around her before drifting off again himself.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Veronica Mars is an entity owned by others, but I appreciate the chance to treat the characters like marionettes in my imagined world  
**

Chapter 20

She woke at four the next morning, curled and cramped into the uncomfortable chair, but reasonably well rested. It felt as though she could think straight for the first time in two days. So much of what had happened since she picked up the phone Saturday morning was unclear to her; she had only the vaguest recollection of how they got to Oregon at all. It was only when she saw the hospital sign by the side of the road that anything made sense. By the time they got to the hospital she was just a bundle of nerves, and had jumped from the car to get to her dad as soon as possible. But, despite the holes in her memory, she distinctly remembered waking up during the night in a panic, and it took a moment to catch her breath or make sense of where she was. She also remembered that hearing Logan's breath in the dark instantly reassured her, but not enough to let her go back to sleep. Needing the comfort he had been giving her these past two days, she had left the bed and joined him in the chair, so gingerly that she didn't even wake him. Once her head was settled against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat, and his distinct musky scent filled her senses, she was able to once again drop off.

Unfortunately, there was no graceful way to disentangle herself from him, so he woke as she was clambering off of him. Without a word he stood and handed her his phone so she could call the hospital, then headed to the bathroom. While he kept himself busy brushing his teeth and using his electric razor, she furtively searched the room looking for her missing cell phone and laptop. Even the damn room phone was missing. Once she had exhausted all possible hiding places, she stood in the middle of the room and looked around. She was just about to try the door to the adjoining room, when Logan left the bathroom and let her know it was all hers. She spent ten minutes changing, brushing her teeth and hair, and mentally readying herself for another day at the hospital. When she opened the bathroom door, she noticed right off that the room phone had been replaced. Frustratingly, he handed her cell to her without a word as they headed toward the car. She could only roll her eyes and take it, spending the short drive responding to text messages and listening to voice mails she had missed. At his questioning glance she shook her head, meaning no message from Charlie yet.

Her dad was doing as well as could be expected, and chances for recovery were looking brighter. Now that her panic had subsided, she was back to her energetic self and the waiting room began to bore her quickly. At that hour the television wasn't receiving anything but news shows and infomercials so, with nothing else to focus on, her attention centered on Logan. Her questions jumped around with no seeming line of thought, but he was game to answer whatever she threw at him.

"So, I'm actually surprised you don't work for Gant publishing. I would have thought knowing Casey would give you a nice in." Her eyebrows rose in question, though she phrased it as a statement.

Logan was sprawled out on his side of the couch, his legs fallen open and his head resting against the pillow. "He offered at one point but I'm happy where I am. Besides, I like knowing I earned my place instead of getting there through connections. We see each other at events once in a while though, or at least we did when I lived in L.A..."

_A few questions later_

"How is Trina doing these days?" she asked.

He grimaced. "I wouldn't know. She blew through her share of dad's estate in just a few short years, and I do mean blew. Last I saw her, she was begging money off me to fund her habit and left pissed off when I only offered to pay for rehab. She has my lawyer's number, but hasn't bothered to be in touch."

"She's not acting anymore?" she asked.

He shook his head, the defensive sarcasm creeping into his voice. "No. Apparently there are less roles for a used-up looking coke whore than you would think. It's not like she had the talent or charisma of Robert Downey Jr. to pull it off."

_A few more questions later_

"You said you were with someone for a while in L.A. Can I ask what happened?" she asked tentatively. Curiosity had been burning in her since he first mentioned he had been in a relationship.

"Nothing new. I cared about her, and I thought things were going well. That I had found one of the few genuine people left in L.A., but it turns out she was just a better actress than most of them." Bitterness laced his angry words and twisted her heart.

She knew it wasn't her business, and he was just trying to keep her busy, but had to ask, "What do you mean?"

Logan sighed, getting up to pace, the line of questioning getting him riled up. "She was sleeping with somebody else. Half the time she said she was at auditions she was giving it up to some other schmuck." He gave a rueful smile. "It's kind of embarrassing that I could be duped like that. I thought I had a better tuned bullshit detector."

"How did you find out?" she probed.

"Dick, actually." When she looked at him surprised, he grinned. "He had his suspicions and put in a call to Mac. She hacked the whore's cell phone records and printed a transcripts of text messages that showed, not only was she sleeping with someone else, she was making it her mission to become Mrs. Echolls. I was about two months of away from a proposal deadline I knew nothing about, or she was going to become not-so-accidentally pregnant."

Anger and shock met in the pit of her stomach. She breathed a sigh of relief at the close call he barely missed. "Jesus, Logan. But Mac? And Dick? She never said they were in touch." The possibility of that rather boggled her mind.

He shrugged, and came back to settle on the couch now that they were done talking about the woman who wronged him. "I don't know that they were, but he knew it was a source I would trust. I'm actually glad she didn't share that little tale with you. At the time you would have been the last person I wanted to know."

They shared a wry smile at that before she moved onto her next question.

"Has there been anybody else, anyone important?" She actually hoped so, hoped someone had recognized him for the amazing man he was.

He shook his head. "Not really. After you and Parker it was the usual parade of bimbos. But I got really sick of that after a while. Besides, chasing after any available tail is kind of embarrassing by our age. So, I dated. Melissa was the only one I had any spark with, so she was the only one that lasted past the getting to know you stage. But that was L.A." He gave her a shy smile and said, "It may sound lame but I was really hoping the love of my life was in New York." He his tone as he said this was very casual, but she recognized how loaded the remark was and the look in his eyes. She knew she couldn't deal with whatever that meant right now, so instead focused on another aspect of his story.

"Melissa who? Would I know her from anything?" she queried, trying to make her voice sound casual._  
_

But he knew her too well. He grinned and shook his head. "Forget it Mars. You told me a long time ago I don't need to fight your fights for you, so back at you. Leave her alone, let karma deal with her."

She rolled her eyes and moved on. There would be time for that later, or she could always ask Mac. "You've met all my friends but haven't even mentioned any of yours. Do you keep up with anyone besides Dick from high school? Or any of your L.A. friends?"

He again shook his head. "No. Other than Dick all my other high school friendships seemed to drop off once the proximity was lost. And L.A. …no one has friends there, just acquaintances."

After her hundred questions were asked she got up and walked to the other side of the room without a word. Her head and heart were aching with the mental picture his answers had created. She turned to him and, his lips tipped up slightly at the corners, he asked, "Any more questions or is your profile complete?"

Some of what she was feeling must have shown in her face because he dropped the joking manner and leaned forward as if he were ready to jump up. "Veronica, what's wrong?"

"Your life, Logan. That's what's wrong. It's so damn lonely." The guilt she felt leaving him had come back double fold.

He sounded surprised when he began to protest, "Hey, Veronica, I—"

She interrupted him. "No, let me say this. I know we haven't talked about whatever that was Thursday night and I'm not in a place to deal with that right now. But I was wrong to leave you like I did before. No matter what happens, I promise you that as long as you want to be, you are a part of my life. I won't be so stupid as to cut you out again, no matter what. "

He was looking at her with a strange smile on his face, and then said, "It's one of the blessings of old friends that you can be stupid with them."

She knew his quoting was a sign that he had heard her, and accepted what she said. Playing along she asked, "Who was that, Keats?"

He shook his head, "No, Ralph Waldo Emerson."

In her best dude voice she responded, "Oh yeah, like Emerson, Lake and Palmer, man. I heard of them." His laugh helped to soothe the still raw wound of their long separation, and she flopped on the couch next to him to wait out her father's recovery.

* * *

Throughout the day he forced her to leave the waiting room and walk down to the cafeteria. The food was surprisingly good, and the change of scenery cheered them both considerably, allowing them to step away from serious subjects for a while. They relaxed into an easy banter, their usual fail safe, before finally drifting off to sleep curled up at opposite ends of the couch when evening fell.

He woke sometime during the night to find Veronica had again curled into him. He was stretched out with only his calves hanging off the couch and she was lying on his chest, his arms wrapped around her and his chin on top of her head. He lifted his wrist to see it was two in the morning, but then slowly lowered it when he realized someone was sitting in the chair opposite, watching them.

Charlie, in rumpled clothes and sporting three days' worth of beard, was wide awake despite looking thoroughly exhausted. As Logan began to move he shook his head and said quietly, "Don't. She'll wake up. I imagine she needs the sleep."

He felt so strange holding Veronica while Charlie looked on. He wondered what Miss Manners would say about a situation like this. But, he kept his voice quiet as well when he said, "But she'll be so damn glad to see you. She's practically worn out her cell phone checking to see if you've called."

Charlie's smile was ironic as he looked at the two of them. "Well, it looks like she was in good hands. And it's damn hard to find a payphone anymore. I was rushing to catch flights and get here as quickly as possible so I didn't look too hard." The smile fell as he got to the point. "But, Logan, what are you doing here?"

He knew it was neither the time, nor the place, to explain the purpose for his presence when Veronica had gotten the call. Opting to keep things simple, he hoped Charlie would save any more questions for a later time. "I, um, I had stopped by on Saturday morning and was there when she got the call. She wasn't in any shape to handle this on her own and I didn't know what else to do."

"I find that hard to believe. She's one of the strongest people I've ever known. Are you sure that's it?" Charlie asked.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Logan was afraid Charlie read more in his eyes than he was ready to admit, so he decided to ignore the question and address the other issue. "Everyone has their breaking point. Her dad is hers. She was practically catatonic until we got here. She needed someone and I was at hand."

Charlie stared him down for another minute before nodding and looking down at his hands. "Well, if that's the case I'm glad someone was. I'm kind of whipped so if you're good I'm going to crash on one of the couches until she wakes up." When he nodded his assent, Charlie walked to the couch kitty corner from them and stretched out, closing his eyes without another word.

Sometime later he was shaken awake by Veronica whispering, "Logan, they said he's waking up. Logan, Logan!" The impatience in her voice brought him out of his slumber, but didn't clear his confusion.

"Charlie?" He sat up and glanced at the couch where Charlie was still sleeping, his back to them both.

Clueless, she laughed. "No, my dad, doofus. I'm going in. Are you coming?" Her bright smile showed the happiness she was feeling. Finding he couldn't resist it, he shelved his ambivalence and smiled back.

"I'll wait here. I doubt if my mug is the first thing he wants to see after coming out of a coma," he answered, wry humor at the mental image that proved causing him to smile.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Good point. I haven't exactly told him we reconnected and I don't think a heart attack is the best thing for someone in his condition. Wait here, I'll be back soon." She jumped up and headed toward her dad's room, never even realizing Charlie was there.

Laura Hansen arrived just as he was shaking Charlie awake, so he watched as they greeted each other as old friends. While she joined Charlie in heading to Keith's room he stayed in the waiting room, feeling like an interloper in a private family affair. Figuring the least he could was to make himself useful, he went searching for coffee for the lot of them. And in truth, he didn't know what the hell else he was supposed to do.

When they all returned he was waiting with a tray full of go cups and packets of creamer and sugar, and they descended on the java juice gratefully. Veronica was effusive, laughing while she relayed how much better her dad looked and his confusion upon waking up. "He doesn't yet remember the shooting incident, but said he'll never watch a Dirty Harry movie the same way again. The doctor said he's out of the woods and they're moving him to a regular room later today. His memory should come back soon so he can help us catch the son of a bitch that did this."

At that Hansen cleared her throat and said, "Actually, we've had little luck with that. We've done everything we can to gather evidence, but there is precious little. The guy was wearing a mask and disappeared behind the store where there are no cameras. With your dad out of commission we are really short staffed so we got a detective on loan from Portland to help us out."

He watched as Veronica immediately sobered at that information and turned from relieved daughter to FBI agent in a nanosecond. "When will he be here? I'll want to go over all the evidence and meet with him right away," she demanded.

"He's been here since Sunday morning and has been over the evidence, little that there is. He's staying at the same hotel you are, room 346, name's Joe Laird." Charlie's eyebrows lifted at the word hotel and he gave Logan a hard look. Oblivious Laura continued, "But I'm afraid, despite your credentials, we need you to stay as far from the investigation as possible. We want to nail this guy's ass to the wall and don't want any accusations of impropriety to get in the way."

Veronica's indignity seemed to add to her short stature. "Impropriety! I'm a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. I'm not some housewife who reads whodunit novels between loads of laundry!"

Laura shook her and refuted, "Not in this moment you're not. You are a distraught daughter who wants to exact revenge for her father. Just concentrate on your dad and let us take care of the rest. Speaking of which, I have to get back to work. I'm glad your dad is going to be okay." She nodded at the three of them and left, completely unaware of what she had left the two men behind to deal with.

Logan only had to take one look at Veronica to know what she was thinking. He put a hand on her arm and looked her square in the eye. "Veronica, no. At least give the guy a chance to see what he can come up with. He could have this thing tied up in a matter of hours and you can focus on your dad."

She held his stare for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded her assent. "Ok, he gets a chance." She picked up her cell phone and called the hotel, asking for room 346 as she walked down the hallway.

Charlie eyed Logan with confusion. "What the hell was that? I feel like I missed half that conversation."

He gave the other man a small smile. "Then you've never seen Veronica go into sleuth mode when it gets personal. I can guarantee you she isn't going to sit back and let the proper authorities handle this. You're going to have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't go overboard." Before he could explain further, Veronica came back.

"He's going to meet me in a couple of hours at the hotel. I desperately need a shower and a change of clothes so I'm going to say goodbye to my dad and we can head over now." She pulled Charlie toward her dad's room again while Logan stayed waiting in the ICU lobby. He was sure with everything else going on, Keith Mars was still unaware of his presence, and maybe that was a good thing. He didn't have to wait long as they were back quickly, and they all headed for the parking lot.

* * *

Reaching the hotel at the same time as Charlie's rental car, Logan was grateful for the foresight that had allowed him to store his luggage in the extra room he had rented. Charlie was already on edge, and he didn't want to explain how he had spent the night in Veronica's room holding her hostage until she got enough sleep. He could see the tension ease a bit in the other man when he produced two key cards instead of just one, holding theirs out to him. Veronica wisely stayed quiet, but eye messaged she now knew where he had stashed her cell and laptop the day before. He grinned in response, and then told them he would see them in a bit, making it clear he intended to be present at the meeting with the detective. Veronica nodded like she wouldn't expect anything else, and he entered his room before Charlie would have time to weigh in.

Before hopping in the shower he used the handy dandy app on his IPhone to find a local Italian restaurant with good reviews. Luckily, they were open despite the early hour, and said they could accommodate the order he placed. They gave him directions and, after his shower and doing the pick-up, he was still able to show up at their room thirty minutes before the detective was expected. He knocked, and when Veronica opened the door he announced, in his best bad Italian accent, "Now here you are-a, the best-a spaghetti in a-town."

She grabbed a bag and asked, "Heavy on the meats-a ball?"

"But of course-a!" he responded, grinning.

She laughed and opened the door wider to allow him in, then led the way to the small table so they could enjoy their feast. Charlie left the bathroom looking much less like a vagabond than he had the night before. With a few hours sleep under his belt, clean clothes and minus the Matthew Fox wanna-be beard, he was much less worse for the wear.

Heading toward the table, Charlie extolled, "Good call, I'm starving. We were just about to order room service." They tucked in and started feasting, finishing not long before they heard a knock at the door.

Charlie got up to answer and let in a man in his forties dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and, oddly, a pastel pink Izod polo shirt. Despite the unusual outfit, Logan could instantly tell he was a cop. He just had that vibe. He introduced himself as Joe Laird, the detective from Portland, and took a seat at the table after they cleaned up the remains of the meal. Since there weren't enough chairs Logan sat on the bed, reluctantly placing himself at the periphery of the meeting.

He knew Detective Laird was in trouble the moment he started talking, so sat back to enjoy the show. Somehow it never ceased to be entertaining when Veronica was judged by her appearance alone. No one expected the gorgeous, pocket sized blonde to be smart, sarcastic, and completely unable to tolerate crap.

Logan began to make a tally of the guy's missteps for his own amusement. First mistake, being overly sympathetic. And calling Veronica hon. "I'm sorry to hear about your dad, hon. He's a nice man. I had occasion to work with him a while back, and it's a damn shame what happened."

She nodded. "Thank you, yes it is. Laura Hansen said you were here with the sole purpose of finding his shooter. I'd like to know the details of your investigation."

Second mistake, not taking her seriously. "Oh well, you don't need to worry about it. We're doing everything we can. Just take care of your dad. I'll let you know when we have this thing all tied up."

Her voice grew terse and Logan had to bite his lip to keep from smiling. "I appreciate it, but I am worried. It's already been three days and the trail is just getting colder. As I said, I'd like to know where you are with the investigation and what you are doing next."

Third and final mistake, extreme condescension. And calling her hon again. He imagined hearing the sound of a final nail pounding into a coffin when the detective chuckled, then spoke. "Well, this is the real world, hon. It's not like watching an episode of Bones or CSI. These things take time. But I give you my word you'll be the first to know when we nab this guy. He shot a cop, and none of us are going to rest until he's behind bars. Is there anything else I can help you with in the meantime?"

Veronica slowly stood up, pulled her billfold from her back pocket and threw it on the table in front of him. The gold of her FBI badge glinted in the light. You could have heard a pin drop during the moment she gave him to digest the information she had just lain before him. Putting her hands flat on the table, she leaned in and spoke in her most condescending bad cop voice. "I'm well aware of how the real world works _hon. _I am well acquainted with the time involved in a proper investigation and know that after three days the chances of _you_ catching this guy are about the same as me becoming a vegetarian. So now, _hon_, you can tell me where you are with the investigation. Or maybe you'd like to call me hon one more time."

Catching Charlie's eye it was all Logan could do not to laugh out loud. Instead of being amused by Veronica, he just seemed…taken aback. Almost like he had never seen the tiny Mars in Charge at work, and didn't like what he was seeing. While still biting his tongue to keep from chuckling, Logan couldn't help the snarky voice in his headas he wondered who the hell Charlie thought he had been in love with the past three years.

Detective Laird moved his mouth like a guppy a few times before offering up the last feeble card he had left. His voice was petulant, the mark of a sore loser. "Now, see, you need to let us handle this so it would be inappropriate for me to give you any details, _Agent Mars." _

Logan couldn't help the small chuckle he let escape at this. The guy just couldn't help poking a sleeping bear, even when it starts to stir and growl. It took some longer than others to realize bears can be short, blonde, and weigh less than your average twelve-year-old.

The smile Veronica bestowed upon Laird was reminiscent of a crocodile approaching its prey. In a mockingly sweet tone she laid it out for him. "Wow, you just made that so easy. Thanks for letting me know that you don't have squat. Now, see, this is how it's going to work. You are going to give me every little piece of information you have on this case and I'm going to solve it. I tell you whodunit and write out the clue cards for you, and you make the arrest. You get to be the Big Damn Hero and I get to publicly thank you for catching the bad guy. Any part of this plan doesn't work for you? Then I'll just catch him myself and let everyone know you were too busy shopping in the 80's to be bothered. "

In light of the badge laying on the table, her intense gaze and ballsy attitude had Detective Laird folding like an origami swan. Unable to maintain eye contact with her, he looked down and nodded before offering, "I'll get everything together and be back in a few minutes." He rose and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Once he was safely gone, Logan gave the smile he had been holding back free rein. "You might want to check the chair to see if it's wet," he warned. When he held up his hand she laughed and bumped his fist.

They both turned to Charlie, expecting him to share in their amusement, but instead found him frowning. "I don't get it. The guy came down here from Portland to try and help your dad. Why would you treat him like that?" he asked.

She gave him an incredulous look at the question, "Because I need to catch this guy and I don't have time to be nice about it. Dogberry was just going to get in my way."

Trying to lighten the moment Logan threw in, "By the way, Nathan Fillion—best Dogberry ever."

She turned to him and grinned. "I know, right? Speaking of leaving a wet chair, I almost did every time he said 'ass'. The man is brilliance personified, as if we didn't already know that when he was Captain Tight Pants." Veronica agreed wholeheartedly.

"Why is it women always refer to him like that?" Logan asked her.

She gave him a look that said he had asked a stupid question, but deigned to explain. "Duh?! Trash?"

Chalrie, who had been trying to follow this exchange, got up from the table with an annoyed sigh and headed for the door. "I'm going to go get a newspaper. Hopefully that I'll understand."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Rob Thomas and Warner Bros. owning the best short lived television show in existence, check. Me owning nothing, also check (sigh).**

Chapter 21

As promised, the evidence in the case was scant. Logan fetched her laptop from his room _(clever bastard) _and they all took turns watching the surveillance video several times through. The perp was wearing non-descript clothing; dark pants and sweatshirt without any printing on them, gloves and a ski mask. They studied the photographs of the exterior of the store and compared them to the video. The front of the convenience store was glass, so they could tell he came from the left side by the woods rather than the parking lot, so this signified he was on foot. The camera was from behind the clerk, so anyone watching could see his actions at the cash register as well as view the front of the store. The perp entered the store at 5:16 am, pointed a gun at the clerk and said something. The clerk raised his hands and spoke back. After a few seconds of conversation—the video was sans audio—the clerk opened the cash register and started putting the money into a paper bag.

The hardest part for her to watch was when her father entered the store at 5:18am. The perp swung around and immediately fired a shot, hitting him only a few inches below his heart. He fell back into the door while the perp jumped up and down a couple of times, put his hands on his head, then turned and grabbed the bag of money from the clerk before jumping over her father and running out of the store.

There wasn't a strand of hair or a fingerprint left behind. They could tell he was a few inches shorter than Keith Mar's 5'8", and was white. According to the police report and witness statement, the clerk didn't notice eye color and said there was nothing distinctive about the voice, only that he didn't recognize it so he must be from out of town. There were no other witnesses and no video for the parking lot, and the woods behind the store were searched, but nothing turned up. The ground was covered with dry pine needles so there wasn't even a stray footprint to provide a clue.

The only other piece of evidence, the bullet, was from a .33 and was still with forensics. There had been no fingerprints, and it would take time to have it analyzed for any further clues. That was it; a run of the mill robbery turned random act of violence. When they were done looking over the police report, clerk's statement, and crime scene video for the umpteenth time Logan and Charlie were ready to admit defeat. But stubbornness and a finely honed taste for revenge kept Veronica from giving up. Detective Lame Lairdrefused to leave her alone with the evidence, but when he wasn't looking she was able to rip the DVD of the security tape and take pictures of all the documents surreptitiously. She knew she was sneaky about it, but it did help that here was a NASCAR documentary on the TV he couldn't seem to look away from. Once she had copied everything she needed, she threw it all back in the evidence box. "Where is your report from interviewing the clerk?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Reminding her self to breathe, she talked slowly so he could understand. "I mean, when you went and spoke to him yourself to follow up on his statement. Why haven't you included it? Have you written it yet?"

Laird's brow furrowed, not understanding her question, and explained, "I have his statement that he gave the responding officers. You read the copy."

She stood up and walked up to where he was lounging in a chair. Her voice was ice as she clarified, "Do you mean to tell me you didn't _bother_ to personally interview the key witness to an attempted murder?" It caused her little satisfaction when his face turned white and he began to utter incessant 'Uhs' while trying to think of a response. When no more eloquent an answer came from him, she was barely able to speak through her fury and her words come out in breathless, one-word sentences. "You. Stupid. Imbecile. We. Statement. Now." She headed toward the door but turned back when he didn't move to follow her.

He was standing with a hand on his hip, his other scratching the back of his neck while making a study of his boots. Working up his nerve he looked up and crossed his arms before telling her, "I can't do that, Agent Mars. I mean,_ I_ can but I promised Hansen you wouldn't be involved. I've already crossed a line by letting you see all this stuff, but if you come with me to question the witness it could be both our ass—I mean tails."

Just before she really blew her top Charlie took pity on him. He jumped up to stand between her and Laird. "Look man, she's just upset. It's probably time we all took a break anyway so why don't you go track down the clerk and do the questioning. You can call Veronica to tell her how it went," he suggested, jumping up to escort him out of the room. When the detective hesitated Charlie quickly grabbed the evidence box and shoved it in his hands while practically pushing him out the door.

Before she could give Charlie the force of her fury, Logan distracted her. "Hey, Veronica. When was the last time you called to check on your dad?" She glanced at her watch and realized she hadn't spoken to her dad or the hospital in over three hours, and wanted to make sure he had gotten moved to his new room without any problems.

Settling for a glare at Charlie, she held out her hand to the two men and snapped, "I need keys. I want to go check on him myself." She knew that she was wound too tight, and the best thing would be a few minutes alone before a little face time with her dad to make sure he was doing alright. But instead of reaching into his pocket, Charlie opened his mouth like he was going to say something. Knowing she had to leave the room before she exploded she turned to Logan and grabbed the keys he was holding out to her, then headed toward the door. It may have been a tad theatrical to slam it behind her, but it was even more satisfying.

* * *

When Veronica had left the room Charlie seemed to…wilt. Logan couldn't think of any other way to describe it. One minute he was standing while she walked out, the next he had sunk to sit on the bed and hold his head in his hands. He looked up at Logan with an expression that seemed an even mix of confusion and anger. "What the hell is happening? Why do I feel like I've been two steps behind since I got here?"

Logan felt pity for Charlie and consoled, "Come on man, you met Ronnie at work. You know what she's like when she's on a case."

Charlie shook his head and told him, "Not exactly. I met her the first week on the job. A lot of computer work and an arrest was what I saw. When she's at home the last thing she wants to think or talk about is work. And I've never seen her pissed at me like she was a minute ago. I don't even know what I did."

Though it was glaringly obvious to him, Logan attempted to explain to the confused man in front of him. "Well, you apologized for her like she was some hysterical girl. Then you got rid of the guy before she could really sink her teeth in. But don't worry about it. She'll cool off and come back," he reassured.

Charlie stared him down for a moment, and then nodded. Logan could practically see the gears shifting in his head before he asked. "What about you, what are your plans?"

Now it was his turn to be confused. He asked, "My plans? I've haven't thought more than five minutes ahead since Veronica answered the phone Saturday morning."

Charlie nodded, acknowledging the craziness of the past few days, and expanded on his question. "I mean, now that I'm here. You must need to get back to work."

Logan could hear the challenge in Charlie's words and it pissed him off. Veronica had given no indication she was ready for him to leave and, since he had spent the last three days holding her together, he wasn't about to be dismissed by her boyfriend. Feigning casualness he sure as hell didn't feel, he sat down in a chair, and put his feet up on another. "My schedule is open ended; a lot I can handle through email for the time being. And your girlfriend has my car, so for now you're looking at my plans." He folded his arms to go behind his head and gave Charlie a relaxed smile.

Giving an exasperated sigh, Charlie scooted back on the bed and lay down, resting his head on a pillow. "Then make yourself useful and wake me up if she calls. I'm still wrecked so I'm going to try and catch some sleep."

* * *

Logan woke in the chair several hours later, the open curtains showing a pitch black sk,y so he knew it was the middle of the night. He looked at the room's second bed, where the only light in the room glowed from Veronica's laptop as she hunched in front of the screen, intently focusing on something. Charlie's light snoring indicated he was still asleep, so Logan spoke quietly to get her attention. "What are you doing?"

Veronica looked up, her face ghostly in the blue light from the display. "Come here. I want to show you something," she whispered urgently.

He came over to the bed and sat right behind her, hunching over her shoulder so he could see the screen. She was watching the convenience store video again, and he had to wonder how many times she had been over it while they were sleeping. The excitement in her voice was unmistakable. "Look, watch the guy right after he pulls the trigger. See, right there!" she pointed to the shooter. "See how he looks at the clerk before he starts to do his freak out dance? And look at the clerk. He's yelling at the shooter, holding out the bag of money."

"Yeah, so?" he asked, missing whatever had her in a dither.

"So I think they know each other. I think he was telling the shooter to take the money and go so he could call the police. And look, before that." She backed up the video to 5:14am and he saw the clerk moving restlessly behind the counter, checking his watch three times in the two minutes before the shooter entered the store.

Logan reached around her to back up the video and watch it straight through again. He left his hand hovering over the finger pad on her laptop, not even registering how he had gotten used to being close to her again. When he was done he paused it and, still conscious of Charlie sleeping only a few feet away, he whispered near her ear, "They planned it—," his words falling short when he felt the shudder move through her. He froze, suddenly aware of the lack of space between them and her response to his words in her ear. He remembered how, in times past, he had often done the same just to elicit that reaction from her. Swallowing to dislodge the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat he whispered, "Veronica—".

She jumped forward off the bed, scooping her laptop up with her and placing it on the dresser. She made it clear they were to pretend that nothing had passed between them by focusing on the new information. Her voice was low, speaking just above a whisper. "Yeah, they planned it. This clerk started his shift at 5am. He never even made a move for the silent alarm until after the shooter left. He's working from 5am to one today. I spoke to Laird and he couldn't find the guy last night, but is going to pick him up for questioning when he gets off work. I think a little recon is needed before then."

"What do you mean recon?" he asked, afraid he already knew.

She hissed her words, still trying to keep quiet so as not to wake Charlie, "Reconnaissance. Information gathering. Collecting of intel. Finding what I need to nail his ass to the wall."

He warily asked, "Which means calling Adam to have him look into known associates, criminal history, and financial records, right?"

She shook her and offered, "Already done, he's digging and will call me with any information. I was thinking more along the lines of going to his place while he's at work and seeing what I can find."

His voice raised a few decibels as he focused less on being quiet, and more on her idiotic plan. "Veronica, not only were you told to stay away from this investigation and have no authority here, you don't have a search warrant. Anything you find you couldn't use, and that's if you didn't get caught."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I won't get caught. I only did this like a hundred times when I was a PI. And there's no way in hell I'm leaving this in the hands of Lame Laird in 346. I just need enough to make the guy talk. I don't care about him. I care about the guy with the itchy trigger finger."

His voice showed his irritation with her idiotic idea, but he didn't care. "And are we ignoring the fact that you're looking for an armed man and your gun is in New York? Along with your common sense? Are you planning to scold him into your non-existent handcuffs and make a citizen's arrest?"

"Hey—"

Her voice rose to match his. "No, Logan. Despite what you seem to think I'm not stupid! I swung by my dad's house and got one of his guns and a pair of handcuffs. But they're just precautions. I meant what I said. I'll let Laird make the arrest!"

"Hey—"

"So let me see if I have this brilliant plan of yours straight!" Logan yelled. "You're going to commit a little B&E, get enough info to intimidate the accomplice to your father's shooter, then track the guy down and, being the patient gentle soul you are, pick up the phone to call a guy you think is a dumbass to make the arrest! Did I—"

"HEY!" Charlie yelled, interrupting what had become a shout fest between them.

Logan realized he was now standing, leaning over so his face was mere inches away from Veronica's. At some point Charlie had turned on a light and neither of them had even noticed. He saw how the color had risen in her cheeks and her eyes sparked at him. Her feet were squared off, as were his, and neither was willing to look away despite the disruption. Though they had stopped yelling, the argument continued with their eyes until he could tell she wouldn't back down. Breaking their stare, he took a step back and glanced over at Charlie. "You talk some sense in her. But if you don't have any better luck, let me know and I'll help you get her into those handcuffs." He walked around her, getting the satisfaction of slamming not one, but two doors when he left their room and went into his.

* * *

As Logan slammed the door, Veronica once again picked up the TV remote and threw it where his head had just been. It hit the closed door, bouncing harmlessly to the floor, and she growled in frustration. "Jackass!" she yelled, then turned around to see Charlie staring at her incredulously.

"What!?" she demanded.

He didn't answer, just kept looking at her until she felt the anger flow from her. He didn't deserve her ire, especially when it was leftovers from fighting with Logan. She walked over to him and put her hands on his waist. "Oh God, Charlie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, he just made me so mad, I didn't think—"

Charlie pulled away from her and spoke angrily, "Veronica, I couldn't care less that you woke me up. But what the hell is going on? What was he doing at our place on Saturday, and why is he here? I show up last night and the two of you are curled up together on that couch in the waiting room."

She stared at him, open mouthed, realizing how much he he been sitting on since he's gotten there. Before she could find an answer she realized he wasn't finished with his questions, and she cringed from the rare fury he directed at her.

"Then, it's like both of you switched to some radio frequency that I can't tune into," Charlie continued. "Like you speak a language only the two of you know. Not just quotes of crap I've never heard of, but you have this way of speaking without talking. I didn't notice it at first, but the more time you spend together the more obvious it is. And then that fight—Jesus! _We've_ never fought like that. I've never seen you like that. What the hell am I supposed to think?"

He was right, and he had never been stupid. She had no answers for him and couldn't handle this while her dad lay in the hospital with his shooter getting way. So she tried for appeasement. "Charlie, I don't blame you for thinking what you're thinking, but Logan is here as a friend. When I got that call on Saturday I was in pretty bad shape, and I only made it through the last three days because of him." She tried to explain what had just happened, "But, you know that friend you can go years without seeing and then when you get together you just fall back into your old patterns, good and bad? That's what you're seeing. And, as much as I hate to admit it, that fight was because he's trying to take care of me and he's worried."

His look softened at the reminder of why there were all in small town Oregon, stuck in side by side hotel rooms. He came forward to give her a hug, and kissed the top of her head while holding her in his arms. "Veronica, I get that he helped you and I'm grateful. But I am here now, and taking care of you is what I came for. I think it's time he went home and I intend to tell him so."

She backed up a step so she could look up at him. "No, Charlie, please. If he chooses to leave on his own that's fine, but after everything he's done for me I don't want him shoved out the door like he was just a placeholder for you. He's my friend and I owe him more than that, including the right to stay as long as he likes. And if you'll remember, he's your friend too."

His frown told her how unhappy he was with her request, and he stopped just short of agreeing "I thought he was, too. But I think when this is all over we're going to have to have a talk about Logan."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I am without ownership of any kind...  
**

Chapter 22

Fifteen minutes later, Logan was banging at the adjoining door between their rooms. He had spent the last quarter hour wearing a path in the ugly orange carpet and had finally decided on a course of action that should make Veronica happy, and keep her out of trouble.

Charlie opened the door and he walked in without invitation to address Veronica. "So here's the deal. We go with your plan except I do the breaking and entering. You walk me through it but stay safely behind the scenes. If I'm caught I have a team of expensive lawyers to bail me out, and it just adds color to my already rainbow hued profile. You get caught you lose your career and blow your dad's case."

"But Logan—" she started to protest.

He interrupted her, "But you do this my way or I talk to Hansen and get her to have a deputy tail you constantly. Take it or leave it, Veronica."

Before she could answer her cell rang. After looking at the caller ID she pushed the button to pick up the call and set it on the dresser. "Adam, hey. You're on speakerphone with me, Charlie and Logan. What did you find?"

His deep voice came through clearly. "In a minute, Veronica. First, how's your dad?"

"He's good." Veronica reassured him. "I was with him for several hours tonight and just got off the phone with the hospital. Still kind of out of it, but alive, and that's all I care about right now. That and catching this son of a bitch. Please tell me you have something."

"Have I ever let you down? First, I watched the video you emailed and had Jerry look it over too. We both agree with you, they knew each other and had this planned, though there's no way to prove it from the tape. Shooting your dad was just a fluke. They probably didn't plan a scenario of what to do if someone else came in during the robbery."

Veronica shook her head, then contested,"Not really caring about intent right now. I just want to find him."

Adam went on, ignoring her brusqueness. "Ok then, how about this. Your clerk, Joey, has no family. He was in the juvenile system in Eugene until he moved to his present location when he was 13. He's kept his nose clean since then, but his records from his juvie days are sealed without a court order. And since we aren't acting official on this I can't get one. My hunch is whatever you need is in there. Know any hacktivists with a bit of moral flexibility?" Adam asked.

She grinned. "I just might. And I trust your hunches more than most people's research. I owe you one, Adam."

Adam disagreed, "Not this time. What's the plan?"

"How about I give you a recap once this is all settled?" she asked.

His chuckle came through the phone as he understood, "Ah, plausible deniability. Rover, it feels just wrong to be here while you're doing this. Charlie, Logan, watch out for her. She tends to get a bit…zealous."

Logan said, "On it." At the same moment Charlie asked, "Zealous, how?"

Adam's low chuckle came through the phone. "This should be interesting. Good luck."

As soon as she hung up with Adam, Logan started in on his plan to commit the B&E himself while she stayed far away from it. Though Charlie didn't say anything during their discussion, he quickly chimed in once she had agreed to supervise the mission and they had laid out all the details. "I appreciate that you both think we need to do this, but Logan, I think we've got this. We've put you out long enough, but it's probably time you got back. I can help Veronica with whatever needs to be done," he insisted.

Logan looked to Veronica to see if she felt the same way, and was bolstered by the eye daggers he saw she was now shooting Charlie. So, she had nothing to do with Charlie asking him to leave. He knew he was being a bastard to a man he called friend, but forged ahead anyway. He leaned back, resting his butt on the dresser and crossing his legs in front of him to show he had no intention of budging. Then, crossing his arms, he gave Charlie a cocky grin and raised an eyebrow before speaking. "Oh, you've got this. Ok. How many locks have you picked?"

Charlie obviously wasn't ready to back down. His tone matched Logan's in sarcasm. "I'm sure I can figure it out. Why, are you some kind of expert? Do you have a side career in burglary we don't know anything about?"

With a smart ass grin, Logan shook his head. "Burglary, no. But I did have occasion to breach a locked door from time to time. We'll sit down over beers and darts someday and I'll tell you all about it. But, assuming you get through the door, you need to set it up so Mac has access to all his files. Exactly how are you going to do that?" he challenged Charlie.

"I'll figure it out. Mac can talk me through it over the phone." Though still standing his ground, the insecurity was evident in Charlie's voice.

Logan reached over to the bed and picked up Veronica's closed laptop, and then handed it to Charlie. "Ok. Turn it on." Charlie, looking more pissed than ever, grabbed it from him. He turned it all around in his hands, pushing anything that might be a button, to no avail. He tried to pry it open but missed that he had to first spring the latch. Frustrated he threw it on the bed before fixing Logan with a glare.

"You can be a real dick, you know that?" Charlie accused.

"I may have heard that once or twice, yeah." Logan agreed, feeling an odd combination of smug and chagrin.

* * *

Once the pissing contest was over, Veronica got busy again. She had wisely kept quiet while the men faced off, but it was time to stop screwing around. She called Mac, who instantly agreed to the juvenile records hack. Armed with her list Logan and Charlie headed to Keith's place and came back an hour later with a pair of headsets that worked like walkie talkies, plus transmitted video from one of them to any computer nearby that had the appropriate receiver, which they also grabbed. While they were gone, Veronica poured over the information Adam emailed her the about the minimart clerk. She filled in the guys when they got back.

She ran down his dossier like the fed she was. "Joseph Halloran, aka Joey. Twenty-three years old, is high school dropout. Single, lives alone in the trailer he inherited from his aunt when she passed away two years ago. Parents both incarcerated when he was eleven, he was in the foster system for a couple years before he came here to live with his aunt. Mother died of an overdose five years ago, father currently serving a nickel for possession. Sealed records for juvenile offenses from the time he was ten until he was thirteen. Hustler subscription, one credit card with a balance of $1800 and three missed payments. No assets, had three bank accounts closed with negative balances. Has worked at the minimart for five years. Spends his breaks drinking all the Gatorade and playing hockey on the roof with his friends."

Logan snickered, which caused Charlie to roll his eyes at yet another inside joke. He ignored it and asked, "Did you hear from Mac yet?"

"No, I—" she stopped and picked up her cell phone, which was playing Weird Al's 'White and Nerdy', the ringtone Mac had somehow downloaded to Veronica's phone and assigned to herself a few months ago. After ten minutes of furious note scribbling and "mmm-hmm, yep, got it, thanks Mac, you're the best" she hung up and immediately dialed Adam.

She requested, "Can you look into a Bartholomew Mathis aka 'Tholly'? Was in Eugene Oregon the same time as our boy Joey…Great, thanks." She hung up the phone and looked at the two men who were waiting for her to fill them in.

"Tholly was a childhood friend of Joey's," she explained. "They were in the same foster home for over a year, and arrested for stealing a car together when they were twelve. Social worker noted in the file they were unusually close. Adam is getting us his bio while Mac looks into any recent cyber links between Joey and Tholly, while we do things the old fashioned way."

Logan gave her a hard look that let her know he meant business. "Except this time I get to play Bond while you rock the role of M."

Charlie let loose a wry smile at that. "Thanks for finally throwing a book reference my way. That one I get."

Logan couldn't resist the quip. He drolly said, "That's right. When I was your age, television was called books," earning an eye roll from Veronica.

Though she would rather be Bond than M, she couldn't find any ground to fight on. The last thing her dad needed while he was laying in the hospital recovering, was having her taken into his sheriff's office on charges. With a sigh she agreed. "Fine, you go in but I'm going to be in a car close by keeping watch. If I tell you to leave, you leave. If I tell you to hide, you hide." She couldn't resist parrying back for his earlier Princess Bride quote. "And be careful. People in masks can't be trusted."

He nodded and, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth, answered. "As you wish."

Charlie looked between the two of them, his mouth growing a little tighter at the subtext he knew he was missing. They were having fun putting this plan together, which only seemed to annoy him to no end. Trying to be the voice of reason he asked, "But what if this Joey guy comes home early from work?"

Veronica and Logan looked at each other, smiled, and simultaneously yelled, "Inconceivable!"

* * *

After 4:00am Veronica and Charlie were at one end of the road in Charlie's rental car, in view of the trailer lived in by the minimart clerk, Joey Halloran. At the other end of the road Logan was in his rental, also watching the trailer. It was on an ugly rural street populated with trailers on half acre lots choking with weeds and rusting piles in the front yards. More cars were on blocks than on tires, and it was a section of town where streetlights and sidewalks had never been installed. The darkness provided them with the perfect cover, and the multiple numbers of parked cars on the street helped them blend in.

"Testing, testing. Is this thingamajig working or am I talking to myself?" Logan asked into the headset. Veronica gave an affirmative answer and he smiled at how intimate it felt to have her in his head, despite the fact that Charlie could hear her part of any conversation they had.

"Ready for action? Our boy is just now leaving his house," she warned. Looking toward the trailer Logan saw somebody head down the porch and mount a bicycle. When the bike started heading his way he ducked down in his seat until it had passed.

He left his car and headed toward the trailer, keeping to the shadows because of the moonlight. He briefly shined a dim flashlight at the doorknob so he could tell what he was dealing with.

Veronica's voice came over the phone again. "Logan, are you sure you can get in?"

"No worries, I doubt this tin can has a better lock than the old man's liquor cabinet when I was growing up," he responded drily. "Besides, remember that lesson you gave me in lock picking when we were seventeen? It may have come in handy more than a few times."

"All right, I don't doubt your mad skills, just let me know if you have problems," she advised.

"Ten-Four," Logan answered back.

Silence, then a snicker could be heard from the headset. "Thanks, Snowman. Wait, does that make me the Bandit?"

"No, I'm the Bandit," he answered. "Who's taking the risk of drawing the Smokies so you can get your job done? Besides, I really liked that car. Ok, I'm in. And if this is how the other half lives they can keep it."

"Yeah, yeah. You're a snob. Yawn. Do you see his computer?" she asked.

He looked around, shining the dim light over the cluttered, disgusting room. "Hold on. I have to wade through the piles of crap to get to it. Are you seeing this?"

The impatience was evident in her voice. "I am, yes. Joey's a slob, you're a snob. And more whiny than I remember. Come on Echolls, you can survive a mess for fifteen minutes."

He wrinkled his nose and agreed, "A mess yes. But you would need an olfactory option on this headset to truly appreciate what I'm dealing with here. On the upside, when I puke in the corner he probably won't find it for years. Ok I'm at the computer. Great, already on and…no password protection… Well now it all makes sense. He's too busy watching porn to clean up after himself. And not even good porn. Are you looking at what I'm looking at?"

Veronica's voice came through, full of disgust. "Yeah, so could you point the headset away from that? My laptop has is going to need a rape kit after that violation."

Logan chuckled, her humor helping to soothe his frayed nerves. "You? Thank god I'm wearing gloves because I don't even want to contemplate what is on this keyboard. Ok, setting it up so Mac can remote in…now, and done. Where else do you want me to look in this shithole? And you are taking me for a tetanus shot after this," he teased.

She countered, "I'm sure Dick can share his stockpile of penicillin with you. Just move your head slowly with the flashlight so I can get the lay of the land. See if there is anything on the desk, counters, table, and refrigerator. If you see something show me, you never know what may be of interest."

Logan walked around examining all the surfaces, then wandered over to the fridge and perused the takeout menus, old shopping lists, expired coupons and various other flotsams. Then a paper caught his eye and he held it up to the camera on his head. "Well, well, well. Who needs a time machine when you have a crystal ball?"

The excitement came through clearly in her voice. "Beautiful. Can you use your phone to take a picture of that? Then take a look around but don't spend more than another five minutes. I think we have what we need." He slowly spanned the flashlight and camera around, and then headed for the door.

"Nothing, except further evidence Joey needs to say hi to Gene." Her snort was reward for his lame joke as he turned off the flashlight and went out the door, taking in a lungful of the fresh morning air. Making sure he locked the door behind him he headed for his car, hurrying to get there before dawn broke.

* * *

Meeting up at a diner a few miles away, they got out of their cars and headed in to get some breakfast. Logan and Veronica were lighthearted, laughing and playful. But once they were seated they realized Charlie hadn't said a word, and was watching them with an expression of consternation. At their stares he finally spoke up. "I don't get it. That whole experience had me freaked out and the two of you…you were joking around the whole time. We commit a felony and you guys act like it's a prank."

Logan chuckled, "Eh, a misdemeanor. We didn't steal anything, and it's not the first time I've helped Veronica on a Mission Impossible."

Veronica laughed with him. "Yeah, I forgot how much fun that can be. Everything with the FBI is so rule-centric that this was kind of a blast."

Charlie gave her a hard look. "But I thought you loved your job with the FBI."

She tried to explain. "I love the sleuthing, and I live for catching the bad guy. Plus the respect I get when I whip out the badge totally rocks." She grinned, but grew serious as she laid out the down sides. "But the rules and red tape suck a lot of fun out of it. The great thing about being a PI was finding the right way to bend the rules to get what I needed. As an agent there's always someone I have to answer to. And that someone is constantly pulling me off of one case to work another before the first is even finished. That makes me crazy."

"Like getting halfway through a jigsaw puzzle, only to come home and find that it's been thrown away," Logan volunteered.

"Exactly! I miss—" she began. Just then the waitress came over to get their orders so they dropped the topic of conversation, concentrating on how to best use the information they had gathered.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Made a cake just so I could blow out the candles, but I still don't own Veronica Mars, or anything else. Damn.  
**

Chapter 23

They returned to the hotel just after 6am, the guys following Veronica as she headed straight for room 346. Her banging was answered by Detective Laird, who opened the door in a t-shirt and a pair of Scooby-Doo pajama pants. Without waiting to be invited she pushed past him and settled into one of the chairs in the room, casually putting her feet on the other chair. "So, Shaggy…did you figure out who shot my dad yet? Because I did," she told him, smug as hell.

Logan hung in the doorway, smirking at the scene playing out before him, while Charlie stood awkwardly outside the room. Laird stared, non-plusssed, at the cocky blonde sitting in front of him. He took a few moments to make sense of her words through the fog of sleep. He bleated, "But, that's impossible. I've been working this case for days, you couldn't have…overnight? Who? How?"

She crossed her hands behind her head to reinforce the casual air she affected. "The who is Bartholomew Mathis, aka Tholly, a crooked childhood buddy of our neighborhood mini mart miscreant. The how is something we like to call detective work. I'm not going to explain all my sources, but the bottom line is, our fellows have been in email contact for years. Tholly came into town Friday to see his old friend. They spent Friday night hatching an idea of how to make some quick cash, and my dad got caught in the middle. The question is, where is Tholly now? That's where you come in."

Laird sunk down to sit on the bed. He looked resigned and said, "Well, I guess that depends on what you know about this Tholly person. If all he has is the four hundred dollars from the robbery, he hasn't exactly hopped a plane to Argentina. I'm guessing you know more about him?"

Veronica nodded, then offered, "Twenty-three years old, lives in Eugene, and missed showing up for work at his job as a minimum wage grunt Sunday morning. His parole officer was notified, who then reported him AWOL. No family, no known close friends, other than Joey Halloran, no credit cards or bank accounts. No leads to where he is…except I do know where he's going to be at three o'clock today. What do you say, wanna go catch a bad guy?"

Laird's response was snide, "You haven't given me one thing to convince me he's the guy, just a hunch and a bunch of secret sources. If you're wrong it's my ass on the line, not yours. And how do you know where he's going to be?"

Veronica rolled her eyes, getting bored with his skepticism. "Uh…I'm not wrong. But let's say for funsies I am; then you've arrested a parole violator. It's kind of a no lose situation. And unless I miss my guess he'll be carrying a .33 that will match the gun my dad wasshot with."

She leaned forward, putting her feet on the floor and pointing a finger at him. "So you need to talk to Hansen, have her pick up Joey Halloran and detain him while we go to meet his friend in his place. As for how I know where to go? I might have stumbled over this piece of paper accidentally." She held out her phone and showed him the picture Logan had emailed her earlier. It was a calendar that had today's date circled and said, _Tholly 3pm_, with the name and address of a bar about 20 minutes outside of town. "So what do you say about two o'clock you fire up the mystery machine and we go get our collar? I'm going to grab a quick shower and a nap before then. Let me know if you need me to do any other part of your job." She got up and pushed past him to head out the door. On her way past Logan she saw his grin and nod of approval, then came face to face with Charlie whose expression was...enigmatic. They both followed her to their respective rooms in silence.

* * *

Meeting Laird at two o'clock, she found he was still skeptical. "So Agent Mars, what's the plan? I can't just walk in and arrest this guy out of the blue. I don't even have a warrant and have no grounds to get one."

She looked at him like he'd grown a third head. She felt proud of her dad as she realized he must have pissed off somebody really important in Portland to get this ass hat working his case. But it didn't lessen her irritation at Laird. "You don't need to get a warrant. He's violated parole so there is already a warrant for his arrest." She stared at him waiting until the look of comprehension crossed his face. When it took only 6.5 seconds, she figured it was a personal record for him. _  
_

"Did you talk to Hansen about the clerk?" she asked.

Laird nodded. "Yeah, she picked him up over an hour ago. She's going to keep him in a holding cell for the next several hours. So what's the plan?"

Veronica shrugged; her plan wasn't very complicated, or original. "Basic mind games. When you bring in Tholly, Hansen can put him in the same cell with Joey just long enough for them to see each other. But not long enough for them to have a conversation. After that, putting them in different interrogation rooms and playing them against each other should get a quick confession."

He nodded like he actually understood this time. "And why exactly are the _four of us_ going on this little trip?"

She gave him a hard look. "I'm here to make sure you don't mess it up. They're here to make sure I don't go Inigo Montoya on him."

Veronica heard Logan snort behind her, then Charlie whisper "Who?"

She felt a little bad for all the movie quotes in front of Charlie, then silently vowed to make him watch _The Princess Bride_ as soon as they got back to New York. In the meantime, the three of them loaded up in Charlie's rental car and followed Laird's four door sedan to a dive bar called, incongruously, The Scrotum and Mallet. The parking lot was an untended mess of dirt, gravel and weeds. The bar was in serious need of a paint job and the windows were painted black from the inside so there was no hope of seeing in. She figured that actually worked in their favor since everything about Laird and his car just screamed _cop. _

She ordered Laird wait outside while they played tourist and scoped out the joint for Tholly. She got his cell number so she could send him a text when the timing was right. Going from the bright sunlight into the darkened room, they stood for a moment to get their bearings. The place was worse than the River Stix. It smelled of old beer and rancid grease, the tables and chairs were a mishmash of yard sale rejects and, despite the almost empty parking lot, more than half of them were filled with customers. Customers that were predominately men that looked like they had a habit of spending their Wednesday afternoons in the local beer joint. They stood out like the proverbial sore thumb and every eye in the place was trained on them. She mentally cursed herself for walking in blindly, recognizing her thirst to catch her dad's shooter had led to the foolhardy decision to skip the recon before they entered the bar. She stood still for a moment, trying to figure out the best course of action.

Logan was a rare step ahead of her. He gave Charlie and her huge grin before loudly exclaiming, "See! What did I tell you? You come through a new town you should follow the locals; they know where the party is! Bartender, can we get a couple pitchers of whatever you have on draft?" He walked to the far corner of the room to the ancient jukebox and gave it a friendly pat before turning to her. "I told you I'd find a place for dancing, didn't I Ronnie? Charlie, get the beer, will you? I'm going to take your girl for a turn around the floor."

She looked at Charlie and tilted her head toward the bar, indicating he should follow Logan's lead. She figured he had the right idea; since they couldn't slip in quietly they might as well make themselves the center of attention. That way Tholly would feel invisible until Laird arrested him. She reached into her bag of tricks and found her vacuous blonde to match Logan's obnoxious act. With a flirty lilt to her voice she said, "You did promise me a dance. Make it a fun one will you? I'm in the mood to move after that long car ride."

He quickly put in a five and made several selections from the menu while she made her way across the small room to him, putting a little extra swing in her step to make sure all eyes were on her. She had been thoroughly irritated when she dressed that morning, and found that all she had left was this damn miniskirt. She couldn't imagine what had possessed Logan to pack it, but was now thankful he had. It helped make sure all eyes were on her.

Logan looked up when she reached his side and grinned like he was having a great time. You had to know him as well as she did, though, to tell it didn't quite reach his eyes. She forced a laugh when the opening strands of Redneck Woman started and he grabbed her to begin a fast two-step.

While they laughed and danced, acting like they were having the time of their lives, she spotted Tholly at the far end of the bar nursing a beer and watching them. To be fair, everyone was watching them. Above his head was a sign with the bar name, which gave her an idea. Somehow, she suffered the dance, and then mimed fanning herself and let out a girly giggle to exclaime, "Whew! That was fun, but I think I'm gonna need a drink before I do another one of those."

Veronica headed toward their table, pulling Logan behind her. But before they got that far, she stopped and pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned to Logan. She was standing less than a foot from Tholly when she pointed to the sign and handed Logan her phone. "Lo-Lo, will you take a picture of me with the sign? I want to send it to Cindy. She'll just love the name of this bar!" She winced a bit at the nickname the second it escaped her mouth; it may have been going a little too far.

Logan narrowed his eyes at her, letting her know he hadn't missed it, but sprightly said, "Sure Ronnekins. Just stand right there!" He snapped the picture, including Tholly clearly in the shot and handing the phone back to her as they headed to their table.

While Charlie poured the beers, she quickly sent the picture to Laird with the message _two minutes_. Since a thug like Tholly would likely make him for a cop the minute he entered the bar, she wanted to keep his attention off the door. Hearing the strains of the next song begin she downed a quick drink of her beer before standing up. "Oh! I love this song. But I'm kind of tired of dancing with the two of you. Let's see…" Her eyes circled the room before finally landing on Tholly. She smiled her flirtiest smile and made her way over to him. "Will you dance with me?" she pleaded.

It was all she could do to not visibly cringe when he smiled and took the hand she offered, then followed her to the dance floor. While he led her in a slow, awkward waltz to the country ballad, she kept an eye on the door the whole time. Luckily Tholly was neither chatty nor handsy, though he didn't even give her the courtesy of putting down his beer bottle. She could feel the cold condensation against her back the whole time they were dancing. When she saw bright sunlight pour in from the suddenly open door, she did her best to keep his attention. "Hey, you're a really good dancer. Not too many people are, but you, you've got moves," she prattled stupidly.

Unfortunately, he wasn't as focused on her as she wanted. Being on the run from the cops, and waiting to meet up with his partner in crime had him zero in on Laird long before she was ready for him to. She could tell the moment he figured out Laird was a cop and had him in his sights because he froze, not even flinching when she stepped on his toes.

Without warning, he reached out and broke his beer bottle against a jutting wall corner and pulled her in front of him. With beefy one arm in front of her body he pulled her tightly against him and held the jagged end of the bottle up to her neck.

Tholly warned Laird, "No way man, I'm not going back to jail. Let me out of here and once I'm safe I'll let the girl go."

When Laird just stared dumbly at him she had had enough. She could see Logan slowly moving to try and circle behind her and Tholly while everyone else just watched the scene, Charlie looking pale as a ghost.

She quickly pulled her hand inside her sweater. Reaching up she covered the jagged ends of the bottle and used her other hand to reach down and grab his junk, squeezing and twisting as hard as she could. He screamed in her ear and moved the hand holding the bottle toward her neck, pushing the jagged shards deeply into her covered hand. She ignored the pain and pushed back, giving herself enough room to bend her head down and back with as much force as possible. Hearing the satisfying crunch of his nose, she finally let go of his balls and dropped straight down, slipping out of his loosening grip. She immediately popped up and, with a roundhouse kick to his head, flashing everyone in the damned miniskirt no less, landed him face down on the floor. She straddled him and had him cuffed within moments, and then looked up at the still immobile Laird. "Are you waiting for an encore or are you going to arrest him?" she snarked.

She blithley gave her version of a statement to Hansen, _'We were at the bar just for fun. I had no idea who this guy was and then he attacked me for no good reason. The fact that he's my dad's shooter is just a crazy random happenstance,'_ had Hansen rolling her eyes. Veronica waited a few hours at the station to make sure all the pieces came together. Tholly's jacket that he left on the barstool had been searched and found to contain a .33. Her plan to play Joey Halloran and Tholly against each other worked beautifully. Within an hour Joey had confessed everything and Tholly was charged with attempted murder.

* * *

Veronica intended to spend the rest of the day at the hospital with her dad, leaving Logan and Charlie at the hotel to catch up on their sleep. Her hand was bandaged, but there was no permanent damage, and it seemed a small price to pay. She was glad to see her dad's color was better, and he had far fewer wires and monitors attached to him than the last time she saw him. Settling into the chair in his room, she covered her bandaged hand with a sweater and closed her eyes for what felt like a moment. Three hours later she woke when she heard her dad chuckling.

"Not that I'm not glad you didn't lose your sense of humor, but what's so funny?" she asked.

He smiled wanly at her. "I was just thinking how long it's been since I've seen you sleep. You still look about five years old when you're conked out. But, in my book, you'll always be five."

"Yeah, well, nothing makes you feel more like a helpless five-year-old than hearing your dad was shot. You do know this makes us even, right?" she asked, giving him a stern look.

His amused expression turned grave. "No, it doesn't. Parents go first, that's the deal. I get another phone call like the one telling me you were shot, and I get to keel over of a heart attack. This is one competition I intend to win. But I'm sorry you had to go through this. Tell me about it?"

She was so tired and wrung out, she knew she would lose it if she had to tell him about the terror and helplessness she had felt since Saturday. So she demurred, "Sometime. Right now I'd rather tell you that we caught the guy who shot you. Portland loaned you a Detective Laird to assist with the investigation. So…who did you piss off in Portland?"

He chuckled. "I may have arrested the Police Chief's son for a DUI—his third. So who do I have to thank for the cool scar I'm going to have?"

She spent the next few minutes giving him the Cliff's Notes version of Tholly and Joey Halloran, managing to leave out all mention of Logan, as well as Tholly holding a broken bottle to her throat. He was fading by the time she got to explaining what happened in the bar so she kept it short and sweet. There would be plenty of time in the convening days for him to grill her for details, anyway.

She spent a little time reading the magazine she had bought in the gift shop, but looked up at a sound in the doorway. Logan was watching her, his expression inscrutable. Seeing her dad was asleep he tilted his head toward the hall, silently asking her to join him outside the room.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Remember, the last chapter is the Reasons we Love Logan list, so this is it. Please review, even though this is a complete fic. It makes my day to see the messages pop up in my inbox, and fuels me for the sequel I'm working on. If you want to be notified when it's published, make sure to follow me as an Author. **

**A/N: I own nothing**

Chapter 24

Veronica followed Logan with butterflies flitting around her stomach. Once they were in the hallway he turned to her, his hands in his back pockets.

Quietly, in deference to the open doorways, he murmured, "Veronica, I think it's time for me to go home."

She had expected he would go soon, but was surprised to feel so bereft that it was actually happening. In the past few days she had come to depend on him to take care of her, to make her laugh, and to understand what she needed without having to ask. And there was still so much unsaid between them; none of which she'd had time to think about.

But Logan was right, as things stood, there was no reason left for him to stay. So Veronica said the only thing she could; all that was allowed given their current situation. "Logan, thank you. It's meant more than you could know having you here. I—you were my legs when I couldn't stand on my own. I don't know what I would have done…" she trailed off, finding words inadequate to express what she meant.

Logan's look was more eloquent than her pathetic attempt at speech. He contested her attempt at gratitude sternly. "Veronica, don't. I'm the last person you need to thank. You've done the same for me more times than I can count."

She nodded, the reel of every time they had supported one another running through her head. Veronica decided to change tacks, but her effort at parting as casual friends sounds false, even to her own ears. "I'm not sure exactly when I'll get back to New York. I'm going to need to stay here and take care of my dad for a while. But when I'm home, maybe we can all go out to dinner."

The intensity of his look was unsettling to say the least. Slowly, Logan shook his head and declined her invitation. "I don't think that's going to happen. Charlie is barely speaking to me, and I don't see that getting better after I say this."

Veronica's heart sped up, and she heard the rush of blood pounding in her ears. She wasn't ready for this. She was still reeling from the events of the past few days, and knew she was in no emotional state to handle what was sure to follow. So she begged him, "Then Logan, please don't say it."

Logan looked down at his feet, then slowly raised his gaze to lock on her. His voice sounded thick, as if he had to work to get the words out. "I have to, Veronica. I'm sorry if the timing is lousy, but I need you to know. Us being just friends…it won't work. It's too hard."

That was the last thing she had expected. Veronica knew he would go home, that a lot was unsettled, but that didn't mean the end of them, did it? She tried to make sense of his words. "Logan, it's been really intense the past few days. But, we just found each other again. We'll get through this; Charlie will calm down."

Logan shook his head, refusing her attempts to downplay their situation. "Veronica, you know that's not it. I'm in love with you, again. I can't watch you be with Charlie, and I can't live on the fringes of your life; I want too badly to be the center of it. If I stick around I'm just going to keep getting hurt. I can't go through that again."

Veronica felt the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. This was the goodbye she had robbed them of seven years ago and, this time, she wasn't sure she wanted it. But, as she thought about what he'd said, she couldn't help the memory that came unbidden.

"Our story is epic, right? Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined and blood shed."

His eyebrows knitted together, Logan asked, "Who said that? I can't place it."

She sighed and let out a single, low laugh. "Some drunk, tortured soul."

"Epic," Logan repeated, then nodded. "Well, if that described anybody it would be us. But I don't want to ruin your life, Veronica, or Charlie's. I want, more than anything, for you to be happy. Seeing what you have with Charlie, it's brought me a weird kind of peace. If it's not me, at least it's him. He'll love you the way you deserve."

Veronica felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. He really meant to leave her. Her voice was shaking with the panic that started to course through her body, and could hear it in the rush of her words. "Logan, I don't know what to say. I don't want to lose you again. But, with everything else going on right now, I don't know—"

He gently grabbed her hands, pulling her with him as he stepped back until he met the wall. Trapping their hands between their chests, Logan bent until his forehead was touching hers. She closed her eyes to hold back the tears, and because it was heartbreaking to see her pain reflected on his face.

Logan crooned softly, "Veronica, shhh, stop. I'm not asking you to make any life altering decisions. I just needed you to know how I feel. To understand why this goodbye needs to be the last."

His words were spoken in a choked whisper, and she found she didn't have a voice left to answer him, or an argument to make even if she did. Tilting her head back to look into his eyes, she nodded, letting the tears flow freely. Her arms rose to twine around his neck, and felt his go around her back. They held each other for only a moment before she broke free, and went into her dad's room.

* * *

Logan's spent the flight home, and the next several days, feeling like an automaton. He buried himself in catching up at work, and wiled away the rest of his time at the gym, trying to exhaust himself so he could sleep. But he would often look up from whatever he was doing to realize that he had spent the last several minutes not moving, thinking only of her. Dick had gone home while Logan was in Oregon, making his apartment feel lonelier than ever.

He had no idea when Veronica and Charlie were coming back to town, and was depressed that it didn't matter. Charlie and his goodbye at the hotel had been anything but friendly. Logan had to accept that he would most likely never see him, or Veronica, again. Therefore, he was surprised, after he'd been home a week, to open the door and find Charlie standing there.

Before Logan could say a word, his eye was at the business end of Charlie's fist.

"You son of a bitch!" Charlie yelled, delivering a blow to his mouth, followed by one to his stomach. As he doubled over, an uppercut to his jaw had him falling backward to land on his ass.

Charlie stood back, nursing his sore knuckles, and continued his harangue. "No wonder you don't have any friends, asshole. Look what happens when somebody lets you into their life!"

Logan stayed down, resting his elbows on his knees while looking up at Charlie. "Keep going if you want. I'm not going to fight you."

As he looked down at Logan in disgust, Charlie yelled, "Why would you? You've already won! We broke up! Are you happy now?"

Logan jumped up, Charlie's words bringing out the anger his fists hadn't. "What!? No, I'm not happy. What happened?"

Charlie was livid, his words soaked in venom. "For fuck's sake, Logan, you happened! You walk back into our lives and it's all movie quote this, and private joke that, and five minute eye conversations nobody else understands. You're like a force of fucking nature! Hurricane Logan blows in and leaves a path of destruction with no warning."

Logan shook his head, confused. "That doesn't explain what happened. Why you broke up."

In Charlie's place was a dervish. He paced back and forth in front of Logan, punctuating his rant with wild hand gestures and flailing arms. "Well, let's see. Since you left she's barely slept or eaten. She's had to leave the room more than once so I won't see her crying. She doesn't touch me the same, and when she says she loves me it sounds like she's saying it to convince herself. So, as far as I can tell, you got her to fall back in love with you, and then rejected her! And while her dad was lying in the hospital, no less. All payback for before. Tell me I got it wrong, asshole. I'd really like another excuse to hit you."

Logan shook his head as the pieces fell into place_. _"Charlie, no. I wasn't out for revenge. I really meant it about Veronica being family. I never wanted to hurt her."

"Well, what did you want Logan?" Charlie shouted. "Why were you even _there_ when she got the call about her dad?"

Logan forced himself to look Charlie in the eye as he admitted, "I realized, the night of your birthday, that I had fallen in love with her again. I hadn't planned on it happening, and I'm sorry. But I went there to see her, so I could figure out what to do."

"Do? Logan, you were _supposed_ to be my friend. You should have backed the fuck off!" Charlie exclaimed.

"A better man would have," Logan agreed. "I was only there a minute when she got the call about her dad. Then, she _needed_ me. Nobody has ever needed me like she did that day. Do you know how that feels?" He hated how his voice sounded choked. But, the worst part about spending your life alone was knowing your presence didn't make a difference to anybody.

Logan continued, meeting Charlie's unflinching stare. "When I left Oregon, I told her that I was in love with her. She needed to understand why we couldn't see each other any more. My hanging around was just going to complicate things between you two, and I really was trying to do the right thing."

Charlie listened to his rambling, his face becoming a question. "None of this was about getting back at her for leaving before?"

"No, god!" Logan declared. "I'm in love with her, Charlie." The bald statement sat between them and couldn't be ignored.

Charlie shook out his punching hand again and regarded Logan with a skeptical eye. "I thought you played me; that you used me to get to her. That it was all an angle so you could win her over, and then crush her to get revenge for her hurting you."

When Logan only shook his head, Charlie asked, his voice cold and demanding, "And the two of you? Before I got there, did you-"

"No." Logan interrupted, steel in his voice. "No matter what, neither of us would have done that to you. If you know her at all, you wouldn't even have to ask."

The relief on Charlie's face was evident, but anger still came off him in waves. "You're in love with her? And you left so you wouldn't get in the way of what she and I had?"

Unable to speak past the lump in his throat, Logan could only nod.

Charlie sighed and rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "Whatever. Falling in love with my girlfriend was really a dick move. You still deserved that punch."

Having no point of defense Logan just nodded. "I know," he agreed.

Charlie just looked at him before turning around and leaving, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

After a few days, Logan turned his phone to silent so he wouldn't jump every time it rang. After a few weeks, he didn't bother. There was no longer anything or anyone standing in their way, but she still didn't call. He had made it clear how he felt and it appeared Veronica was doing the same, despite what Charlie seemed to think.

Trying to take his mind off her, he allowed his social circle to grow a bit. Adam and Trent invited him out a few times for drinks or a meal, and he found he enjoyed the company of the two men. The conversation was always lively, and neither talked about Veronica or Charlie. They seemed determined to cheer him up, and he was touched by their reaching out.

Then Logan surprised himself by calling up Henrietta, his date the night of Charlie's birthday. Henry listened to his tale of woe, and shared hers as well. He couldn't remember ever having a woman as just a friend, and found he enjoyed it quite a bit. They met up for lunch or coffee a couple times a week, and he even found himself commiserating over her stories of bad dates. Despite the Veronica shaped hole in his heart, he was building a more rounded life in New York.

Logan spent two weeks in Mollymook with Dick for their planned surf trip. He had expected it to go like all his other trips with Dick; spending days in the water and nights watching a very drunk Dick hook up with any skank he could find. Surprisingly though, Dick stayed mostly sober, and was content to spend the evenings watching movies and playing video games. After noticing him disappear into his room with his cell phone at the same time each night, Logan had an epiphany. When Dick went into the shower, he took a page from the Mars Spy Manual and stole the man's cell phone, going through the call history to find out who he was talking to each night. Only one number came up, under the name MacAttack.

He shuttered the phone and grinned at the surprising thought of Dick and Mac. Logan decided to leave the other man to his privacy. Dick had no guile, whatsoever. If he was just banging Mac, he would have been bragging about it from one end of Australia to the other. But, if he was keeping it secret, it must be because it was important. He found himself wishing for a happy ending for the unlikely couple; after all, somebody deserved a happy ending.

* * *

The day after Logan got back, Adam texted him again. _Birdbrain 8pm. Welcome home drinks with me and Trent. You can regale us with tales of surfing and bikinis until we beg you to stop. You in?_

With a grin, he texted back, _Hell yes, and I may have brought back a picture of Dick in a Speedo. He even sported a semi and posed for the damn thing just for Trent. I had to make somebody else take the picture because my eyes started to burn._

Adam's response was swift. _You, my man, are a true friend. See you then._

At eight o'clock Logan entered the club and walked over to the table shared by his two friends. Thoughtfully, they already had a drink waiting for him so he was able to get right to the hellos. Then he slid a manila envelope across the table to Trent and begged, "Please don't open this until you get home. I may have sold a bit of my soul to get it, and I can't bear to look at it again."

At Adam's knowing chuckle, Trent looked between the two of them. "I don't know if I should be thankful or scared, but I'll decide later when I've seen it. Welcome home!" He held his glass up and waited until the others had raised theirs, to join in his toast. They clinked and drank, then asked Logan questions about his trip until he had exhausted every detail.

The lights began to dim as the band set up. Logan recognized as notes from The Pierces 'Kill! Kill! Kill!' filled the air, and his head whipped up to look at the stage when the pianist said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a special treat for you tonight. Put your hands together for Miss Vee."

The audience clapped politely, and Logan's heart plummeted when he saw a tall brunette take the stage and begin singing the sultry number. Adam asked Trent to dance, and the two men headed to the floor hand in hand. He watched them sway together, looking at each other like they were the only people in the room. He continued to watch them morosely as he nursed his drink, comparing what they had to what was missing in his own life.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Veronica asked, interrupting his reverie and indicating the chair next to him.

Logan turned his head looked up at her for a long moment. She looked beautiful and sophisticated in the black cocktail dress, three inch heels and side bun she was wearing. He slowly stood and pulled the chair out for her, staring as if she would disappear should he so much as blink. Once she was settled he sat down again, and then scooted his chair to face her, to be as close to her as he could manage. It was a long moment before he was able to speak.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Veronica nodded, then looked down at her hands resting in her lap."You can thank Adam for that. I wanted to see you, to figure things out, but he said I owed it to Charlie to properly mourn him. And I owed it to you to wait until I was absolutely sure how I felt."

He could hardly speak past the lump in his throat. Futilely, Logan tried to tamp down the hope that surged in him. With a perceptible shake in his voice he asked, "And how do you feel?"

She sighed and looked at him straight on, as she used her words to stick a knife in his heart. "That, despite how much we love each other, it doesn't mean it's going to work."

But wait. Veronica had said we. How much _we _love each other. Logan scooted a little closer so their knees touched, and took her hands in his before he began to fight for his life. "It doesn't mean it won't," he countered.

"We fight. A lot," she began her tally of reasons.

"From passion, Veronica." His thumb began to stroke the hand he was holding, relishing being able to touch her in just this small way. "We're passionate people. When we play, and when we work, we bring our all. Why should it be any different when we love? If you're being honest, you'll admit you've missed it as much as I have." Logan earned a small, fleeting smile from her for that.

"My job is going to put me in danger, and I'm not going to quit anytime soon," Veronica continued.

Logan frowned, and nodded, acknowledging her point. "I've seen you in action and know you can take care of yourself. Plus, with Adam as your partner, I feel better about your chances. I can't promise it won't make me crazy at times. But, Veronica, no one who loves you the way I do would be completely at rest when you're working. I'll deal with it. We'll deal with it."

"I have no interest in living a life of penthouse apartments and resort vacations," she gave him a small smile.

She was talking apartments, living together. Logan smirked back at her. "Agreed, it's boring and bourgeois, though my penthouse apartment is really nice. And you've never been to the French Riviera. But we'll find a middle ground. Money was never important between us."

Veronica gave a low laugh at his speech. "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

Logan felt as if he was holding his breath, though air kept moving in and out of his lungs. He held her eyes in his while playing his trump card. "It's really just one answer. Us. Nothing else works, or makes any sense."

She turned her hand to grasp his tightly, using the other to wipe a stray tear that fell. Watching her, he knew he had lost. Her mind had been made up before ever walking into the bar, and it hadn't mattered what he said, or how much she loved him back. As she took a breath to speak, Logan readied himself for the blow that would inevitably follow.

"Okay," she said.

The word confused him and his brow furrowed. "Okay, what?"

Veronica clarified, "Okay, we do this. We fight, and we love, and we make each other crazy. We—. "

Whatever she was going to say next didn't matter. As soon as her words sunk in, Logan couldn't hold back. He leaned forward and claimed her mouth, kissing her with a passion that was matched equally with her own. He didn't know or care how it happened, but dimly realized they were standing, pressed together tightly while they kissed for what seemed like an eternity. They came up for air only when he heard someone clear their throat for, what he was sure, was not the first time.

"Rover. Logan. As happy as we all are to share this moment with you, you may want to make this a private party." Adam drolled.

At his words, Logan realized his hand was between them, pressing against her breast, while hers were lost under his suit jacket. He pulled back enough to see the laughter in Veronica's face as she, too, realized how carried away they had gotten.

He felt light enough to float home, but decided, for the next fifteen minutes, he could be practical for the sake of expediency. "Cab?" he asked her. Logan did his best to silently convey the purpose of their next destination. He wanted her, and saw no reason to be coy about it.

"Definitely, cab." Veronica laughed, and settled herself firmly under his arm as he turned and led them out of the club.

* * *

Veronica expected the cab ride to his apartment to be spent with her hands and mouth filled with him. So she was surprised when, instead, Logan just sat next to her, took her hands in his, and started to talk. Or rather, to question her.

"So, when you came here tonight, it was to tell me we weren't going to work?" he asked.

She couldn't hold back the small smile that escaped her lips, and answered, "No, I came to tell you I love you, and I want to spend my life with you."

Logan's face lit up at that, a joyful smile crossing his mouth before he squelched it. "Yeah, I didn't quite get that. Why make me argue for us, then?"

Veronica grinned at him, the beginning of a tease in her voice. "Because. I love the things you say. I wanted to hear from you why we'll work this time."

She recognized his calculated expression as he demanded. "Uh huh. Well tit for tat, Bobcat. Why will we work this time?"

Veronica sighed, savoring the thrill that ran up her spine at the nickname. She joked, "Can't I just save it to write in a Valentine's day card sometime? I seriously come up blank when trying to fill out one of those."

"No way. You had me on the edge of my seat in that bar. You owe me," Logan scolded.

She took a breath, and spoke the simple truth. "Because it's you. I've spent seven years pretending I wasn't aching for you, and I can't pretend any longer. I love you, I need you, and nothing is right without you."

They pulled up to his building at that moment, and Logan looked away from her to pay the cabbie, and then helped her out of the car. Once again tucking her under his arm, he was completely quiet until they walked through his lobby and into the elevator, the doors closing behind them. When they were completely alone he turned and took her face in his hands, then leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He whispered an almost silent "Thank you," as he pulled back to smile down at her.

Standing on her toes, Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into another kiss, this one deeper and full of all the things she didn't adequately express when given the chance before. The ding of the elevator reaching his floor would have gone ignored, if not for the promise of complete privacy it foretold. They pulled apart with a laugh and quickly made their way down the hall to his apartment.

After kicking open the door, Logan turned and squatted down, catching her behind the thighs so she fell over his shoulder, and dangled down his back when he stood. Veronica laughed and smacked his ass, then teased, "I don't think this is what is meant by carrying me over the threshold."

"What can I say, I'm not a traditionalist. And you're not a bride," Logan joked back as he carried her in. Setting her down he turned halfway serious and offered, "though, if you want to be, I think it's worth a discussion someday."

Veronica smiled up at him, the prospect not frightening her in the least. "Well, that will be an interesting day. But I think we have a few matters to take care of first. Beginning with, why are still wearing all these clothes?"

"You know, making me the girl in this moment is probably not the best hand to play," Logan teased as he reached out and pulled the pins from her hair, his expression becoming sultry as she shook it out and he watched it tumble down her back.

"Logan?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Stop staring and kiss me," Veronica ordered.

He didn't do so immediately, first letting a slow and seductive grin spread across his face. His eyes seemed to grow darker as he studied her intently, and suddenly it felt as if her knees had turned to water. He reached out a hand and stroked her cheek, before moving it to twine his fingers in her hair. At the same time, he grabbed her around the waist with his other arm, pulling her close until she was flush against him. Only then did his head lower to hers, and the kiss he gave her was well worth the wait.

Veronica lost track of his hands after they unzipped her dress and peeled it from her shoulders to pool at her feet. They were in her hair, running up and down her back, and on her breasts seeming all at once. His impatience was matched by her own as she unknotted his tie and unbuttoned his shirt in record time. Not wanting to wait, she pulled up the white tee he wore under the dress shirt and began kissing his chest, using her tongue, teeth, and hands around his sensitive nipples until his hands stilled on her back. "Jesus, Veronica," he muttered under his breath.

Having gotten the first taste, she pulled back in triumph to gloat in his eyes. But they weren't staring at her face. They were too busy drinking in the bustier and the garter belt she wore to hold up her stockings, and nothing else. When he looked back up, she gasped at the desire in his eyes. God, she had missed that look. It took only that one expression from him to make her feel beautiful and wanton.

Quickly divesting himself of his shirts, he picked her up and carried her to the couch behind them. She thrilled as he dispensed with all preliminaries to lay her back and place himself between her thighs, his tongue exploring her folds with a sudden familiarity that shocked her. The surprise quickly gave way to desire as he lavished his attention on her center. Reaching down, she worked her hands into his hair, as his fingers and tongue continued their work until she cried out with release.

As Veronica lay panting, she realized how much she had missed this. Missed his impatience in this act. The times when he manipulated their lovemaking to be slow and methodical were delicious, and she enjoyed them to no end. But when he couldn't wait to have her, when he dispensed with all formality and just _took her, _in one way or another, was heady. Those times she felt desired beyond reason, and she loved it.

While she was taking the moment to ruminate, Logan was laying butterfly kisses on the insides of her thighs. Once her breathing had again regulated, he slowly moved up to lay more kisses on the band of skin between her bustier and garter belt, then sat back on his heels to remove the belt and stockings. Throwing them aside he studied the bustier a moment, reached out a hand to help, and ordered, "Sit up."

Veronica complied and stayed still when he got up and moved behind her to unfasten the hooks, and released her from the contraption. She took what felt like her first deep breath in hours, then leaned over her bent knees as he began to massage her back.

Logan's deep voice rumbled behind her. "Just so you know, as fuck-all gorgeous as you looked in that getup, I'd want you if you were wearing old sweats and one of my t-shirts."

She laughed, and then let out a deep moan as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. "I'll remember that. But I like that getup." Veronica turned her head to look at him, eying his muscular build appreciatively. "And just so you know, I'd want you if you were wearing nothing at all," she said, giving a pointed look to the pants he was still sporting.

Logan laughed and stood up, affecting a slow strip tease while she hugged a pillow to her chest and watched, chuckling. His hip shimmies and pelvic thrusts were over-exaggerated and hilarious, but she sobered some once he'd completely stripped and she had the chance to drink him in. Feeling a resurgence of the lust that had been temporarily banked, it was her turn to eye him up and down.

"Logan, I didn't think I'd ever see a more beautiful sight than you at nineteen, but shazaam!"

He relaxed his model's pose, put his hands on his hips and smiled saucily at her. "Not too shabby yourself, Bobcat. But I think this meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society must move on to other items on the agenda."

Logan dropped to his knees on the carpet in front of her, studying her for a moment before smiling again. Reaching out, he gently moved the wisps of hair that had fallen in her face and cupped his hand under her chin, then kissed her softly. As the kiss deepened she uncrossed her legs to put her feet on the floor on either side of him and scooted forward until she was almost flush with his chest, the throw pillow she had been holding pressed between them.

Frowning, he pulled back and looked down at the plush barrier. Moving the pillow to the side, he studied the scar that was a few inches below her breast and rubbed his fingers over it to feel the texture. When he looked back at her, all traces of his earlier levity were gone. He pushed back the hair on her neck to look for the scar he must have known was there. Finding it under where her side bun usually rested, he ran his fingers over it, then leaned forward and placed a kiss along the mark.

Veronica assumed Charlie must have told him about the injuries, and felt an incredible sense of relief that she didn't have to. That he had accepted her job, knowing how badly she had been hurt, reinforced her belief that this time, they could make it work.

After familiarizing himself with these new flaws, he again kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her to pull her as close as possible. Their touches soon became less tender and more carnal, and were punctuated by gasps and whimpers as they rediscovered each others' most sensitive spots. They ended with him sitting on the floor while she was astride him, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around his neck and waist as they moved their hips in unison. Their pleasure was voiced with abandon, punctuated with declarations of love.

Once the sweat had cooled from their bodies and they lay with limbs entwined, her thoughts turned toward the future. Veronica asked him, "So what happens now? What's the next step?"

She felt the rumble of his laughter in the chest she was sprawled across as he warned her, "I imagine we'll figure it out, but you're the one who gets to tell your dad." She pictured that conversation and joined in, laughing along with him.

******A/N SEQUEL HAS BEEN POSTED, called The Glory of LoVe. Curious about what Logan and Veronica are up to four years later, come check it out...**

**A/N Wow, what a long strange trip it's been. Thanks so much to everyone who went on this adventure with me, whether you reviewed, followed or just stealthily popped in for a chapter here or there. **

**And please review! I would love to hear what worked and didn't work for you on this story. **

** The last chapter is your list of the 101 Reasons We Love Logan. My guy still doesn't get it, but we all do so his loss, right?  
**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N Chapters 18-25 are being posted all at the same time so if the last thing you read was the group going out for Charlie's birthday, you have missed sooo much. So take a trip through time, my friend, back to Chapter 18.**

**101 (or so) Reasons We Love Logan**

**HOW HE LOOKS:**

Gorgeous

Forehead wrinkles

Puppy Dog Eyes

Sexy

Extensive library of eyebrow bobs-each with a different meaning

Long Fingers

Those eyes, that stare

Muscular but lean

Masculine Grace

The way he wears his sleeves

**HOW HE LOVES:**

Protective

Kicks ass for Veronica regardless of personal consequences

Affectionate – always touching V in some small tender way

Calling her Bobcat

Not pressuring Veronica to have sex – let her set the pace

**WHAT HE DOES:**

The Twirl Kiss

The Epic Speech

The Smolder

The Smirk

His mindfuckery is hot

He always says what he feels, and he feels sooo much

The inspirational message

Great one liners

Admires Veronica's intelligence

All that is implied in 3.01 when Veronica says "Woof!"

Tiger in the Sack

Little hello/goodbye waves. The flickers of his fingers, so cute

Says 100 things just with his eyes

The way he leans-in doorways, in the Xterra

Publicly declared Veronica as his girlfriend at the un-birthday party

**HOW HE IS:**

His sense of humor

Witty

Smart

Charismatic

Snarky

Spry

Quirky

Vulnerable

Sarcastic

Loving

Misunderstood

Impeccable Timing

Swoon worthy

Loves a challenge

Drama Queen

Has his own sense of justice

Fast, physically and mentally

He's Logan freaking Echolls – larger than life

**A/N Hmmm…can any mortal man compare? Thanks to everyone that contributed. If you have anything else to add to this list just PM me or put it in a review, I'll see that it's added on. If I missed something you sent let me know as well.**


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